Tag

Spider

All articles tagged with #spider

health23 days ago•6 min saved

Kansas mom fights for life after spider bite triggers liver failure

A Kansas mother, Britagne Miller, developed severe complications after a suspected spider bite at Cheney Lake. She faced a painful calf lesion, a dangerous blood-clotting issue requiring emergency surgery, and later end-stage liver failure with doctors initially giving weeks to live. She was discharged home to recover and now aims for a liver transplant, while her family manages financial strain and has launched a GoFundMe campaign.

via The Independent|

#gofundme #health #kansas

science1 month ago•13 min saved

Himalayan spider sports Hawaii’s smile but is a distinct new species

Researchers describe Theridion himalayana from Uttarakhand, a Himalayan spider with the same red smile as Hawaii’s happy-face spider, but mitochondrial DNA shows a ~8.5% divergence from Theridion grallator, supporting a distinct new species; the study documents 32 color morphs, various habitats, and flags questions about whether the grin evolved twice or from a shared ancestor.

via Space Daily|

#dna-barcode #hawaii #himalayas

science2 months ago•3 min saved

Ballista spider hurls ants into a silk catapult web in Australia

Australian researchers from Macquarie University describe a newly identified spider that uses a spring-loaded, catapult-like silk trap to catch only the aggressive green tree ant (Oecophylla smaragdina). Nicknamed the “ballista,” the spider builds a cone-shaped scaffold of tension lines, then launches a entangled ant into its web at extreme acceleration (about 15 g) when the ant bites the trap. The nocturnal predator hunts on trees in northern Queensland, potentially using pheromones to lure the specific ant while avoiding other prey. The discovery, documented in Current Biology, was made over ten nights with high-speed and infrared cameras by Ajay Narendra and colleagues from Macquarie University.

via BBC|

#ant #ballista #catapult-web

sports3 months ago•8 min saved

Kittle defies injury to save wife from giant spider; PETA weighs in

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, still recovering from last season’s Achilles tear, sprang into action in the early hours to rescue his wife from a spider in their bathroom. He struck the arachnid on the first attempt and, after hugs and kisses for bravery, got back to rest. PETA responded, saying spiders deserve a good day and offering a humane bug catcher. With his injury sidelining him for now, Kittle remains focused on Week 1 prep.

via NFL.com|

#achilles #george-kittle #peta

science3 months ago•4 min saved

Tiny Wall-Dwelling Spider Hunts Prey Six Times Its Size

A newly identified spider species, Pikelinia floydmuraria, about 3–4 mm long, lives in urban wall crevices in southern Brazil and can capture prey up to six times its size, often near artificial lights that attract insects like mosquitoes and flies; described in Zoosystematics and Evolution, the discovery sheds light on the ecology of the Pikelinia genus, with DNA studies needed to clarify its evolutionary relationships.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#pikelinia-floydmuraria #predation #science

science5 months ago•4 min saved

Amazon Spider Mimics Zombie Fungus, Unveiling a New Taczanowskia Species

A newly described Ecuadorian Amazon spider, Taczanowskia waska, mimics the fruiting bodies of a parasitic fungus to avoid detection and ambush prey, a discovery aided by citizen science and published in Zootaxa, highlighting striking inter-kingdom mimicry in orb-weavers.

via The New York Times|

#ecology #fungus #mimicry

automotive6 months ago•2 min saved

Ferrari Previews Amalfi Spider Convertible With Twin-Turbo V8 Power

Ferrari is reportedly ready to unveil the Amalfi Spider, a convertible variant of the Amalfi coupe, in early March. It would use the same twin-turbo 3.9-liter V8 producing 631 hp, with a 0–62 mph time around 3.3 seconds, and Ferrari intends to launch multiple new models this year as part of a broader plan for about 20 models by the decade’s end.

via Motor1.com|

#amalfi #automotive #convertible

science7 months ago•5 min saved

Tiny Madagascar Spider Weaves 80-Foot Webs with Kevlar-Tough Silk

A tiny Darwin’s bark spider in Madagascar builds webs spanning rivers up to 80 feet long, using dragline silk that absorbs energy far better than Kevlar—about ten times tougher—setting a new benchmark for natural materials and prompting questions about the silk’s molecular basis.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#biomaterials #kevlar #madagascar

science7 months ago•2 min saved

Early Spider Designs Featured Tailed, Eight-Legged Creatures

Scientists discovered a 100-million-year-old spider-like creature called Chimerarachne yingi with a tail, providing new insights into spider evolution. The fossil shows a mix of modern spider traits and unique features like a segmented abdomen and a whip-like tail, suggesting it was a close relative or early branch of true spiders, highlighting the mosaic nature of their evolutionary development.

via IFLScience|

#arachnid #evolution #fossil

science9 months ago•5 min saved

Scientists Discover a Unique Half-Male, Half-Female Spider in Thailand

Scientists in Thailand discovered a new spider species, Damarchus inazuma, exhibiting bilateral gynandromorphism, with one half female and the other male, providing rare insights into sexual development and diversity in arachnids.

via ZME Science|

#damarchus-inazuma #gynandromorphism #new-species

science1 year ago•2 min saved

Prehistoric Spider Larger Than Dinosaurs Discovered

Scientists discovered a well-preserved fossil of a giant trapdoor spider, Megamonodontium mccluskyi, in Australia, dating back to the Miocene epoch. This extinct species, significantly larger than modern relatives, provides valuable insights into spider evolution and past rainforest ecosystems, highlighting how climate change has shaped biodiversity over millions of years.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#australia #climate-change #fossil

lifestyle1 year ago•2 min saved

Woman Befriends Tiny Bathroom Spider

A woman named Deanna Downer from Colorado develops a friendly routine with a tiny jumping spider named Ocho, whom she initially feeds and chats with in her bathroom, emphasizing kindness and respect towards spiders and other creatures.

via The Dodo - For Animal People|

#animal-rescue #bathroom #friendship

science1 year ago•3 min saved

Scientists Create First Genetically Modified Spider That Spins Glowing Red Silk

Scientists in Germany used CRISPR-Cas9 to genetically modify a common house spider to produce red fluorescent silk, marking the first successful application of gene editing in spiders and opening new possibilities for custom biomaterials.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#biomaterials #crispr #genetic-modification

science1 year ago•2 min saved

Giant Dinosaur-Era Spider Fossil Discovered in Australia

Scientists have discovered a fossilized giant trapdoor spider, named Megamonodontium mccluskyi, in New South Wales, Australia, marking only the fourth spider fossil found on the continent. This Miocene-era spider, five times larger than its modern relatives, provides insights into the region's past rainforest climate and the evolutionary history of spiders. The discovery, published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, highlights the spider's significance as the first fossil of the Barychelidae family found worldwide, offering clues about past environmental conditions and potential climate change impacts.

via indy100|

#australia #fossil #miocene

science1 year ago•2 min saved

Giant Dinosaur-Era Spider Fossil Discovered in Australia

Scientists have discovered a fossilized giant trapdoor spider, named Megamonodontium mccluskyi, in New South Wales, Australia, which is five times larger than its modern relatives. This rare find, only the fourth spider fossil in Australia, provides insights into the evolutionary history and past climate of the region, indicating it was once a lush rainforest. The discovery, published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, highlights the spider's significance as the first fossil of the Barychelidae family found worldwide.

via indy100|

#australia #fossil #miocene