News Animals

This spider makes its home in the burrows of extinct giant ground sloths

Paleotoca diminas represents a new type of long-spinneret ground spider

A pale spider rests on rust-tinged soil.

Paleotoca diminas, a newfound eyeless spider species, may sense vibrations in the air with special hairs on its legs.

I. Cizauskas, R. de A. Zampaulo and A.D. Brescovit/Taxonomy 2024

By Jake Buehler

Deep in the unyielding darkness of a Brazilian cave, a pale, blind, spiny beast carefully feels its way across rust-colored rocks. Meet Paleotoca diminas, a spider new to science.

The species, described August 5 in Taxonomy, makes its home in unusual subterranean lairs: the long-abandoned burrows of extinct megafauna, such as giant ground sloths or giant armadillos, researchers say.