Is this a spider?

Great news! There is a species of spider new to science found here in Pulau Ubin, Singapore[1]!  It belongs to the genus Piranthus which is under the family of jumping spiders, Salticidae. This genus of spiders is relatively young, being only discovered by arachnologist Tamerlan Thorell in 1895, and very small, currently having only two species, although that will soon become three once a name has been decided [2].

Piranthus sp. From Ezhupunna by Renjusplace licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This is not the new species

 

It really is fascinating how we are still discovering new species of animals. Even last year, a survey of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve was done [3] and it found 25 species of spiders never before seen in Singapore, and 9 species that are found only in our little red dot. These numbers are likely to grow as at the time of this paper’s publishing, not all the spiders have been properly identified.

How are we still discovering new species of animals and plants in a country as small as ours? In a spider’s case, it is because of how we find them and how we identify them. For example; first observe the ant pictures below.

The animal was released after the quick picture

Photo by Photoholgic on Unsplash

I lied, only the last image is of an ant. If you noticed it, good eye! The other is an ant mimicking jumping spider with prey in its mouth. Spiders have different forms of camouflage that they use to hide from predators and prey. Colours that match flowers in crab spiders, shape and texture in some orb weavers, behaviour in ant mimicking spiders… They could, alternatively, just hide from the world like trap door spiders. It is difficult to find such spiders because at first glance, they look nothing like one or aren’t even there!

To add to the difficulty of finding spiders, the accurate way to identify a species of spider is by observing its reproductive organs [4] which requires a microscope so identifying some spiders isn’t something one can easily do on the fly.

Photo by Stephen Hocking in Unsplash. Arrows by me, pointing towards this female’s pedipalps.

 

So how does difficulty in finding and identification relate to the environment? Wildlife conservation. Conservation by protecting the animal just doesn’t always work. It is difficult to protect something you know little to nothing about. Some animals and plants could exist in their natural habitat in relatively small populations. When we humans come along and take away this natural habitat, these living things may be go extinct, and we wouldn’t even be aware because we could never find or keep track of them.  Bukit Timah Nature Reserve covers only 1.63 square kilometres [5] which is much smaller than a residential area like Yishun where I live. We’re lucky that the nature reserve and the remaining vegetation were not cleared in the past. It would be impossible to know how many animals or plants goes extinct this way. I wonder how much was lost in Singapore alone since almost all our primary forests have been cleared [6]. As such, it is crucial to preserve as much of our forests and natural environment as possible, so as to not cause more extinctions unknowingly.

 

References:

  1. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/20-new-animal-species-recorded-on-ubin-including-spider-species-new-to-science
  2. https://wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/2890/Piranthus
  3. https://www.nparks.gov.sg/sbg/research/publications/gardens-bulletin-singapore/-/media/sbg/gardens-bulletin/gbs_71_s1_y2019_v71_s1/71_s1_07_y2019_v71s1_gbs_pg209.pdf
  4. Joseph K H Koh. 2001. A Guide To Common Singapore Spiders.
  5. https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/parks-and-nature-reserves/bukit-timah-nature-reserve
  6. https://www.nparks.gov.sg/sbg/research/publications/gardens-bulletin-singapore/-/media/sbg/gardens-bulletin/gbs_63_01,-a-,02_y2011_v63_01,-a-,02/63_01,-a-,02_205_y2011_v63p1,-a-,p2_gbs_pg_205.pdf

3 Comments

  1. Joanna Coleman Reply

    I had no idea about these recently discovered spiders ! How exciting !!!

  2. Anna Low Reply

    Hey Justin!

    So amazing that we can find new spiders in Singapore. Other than habitat loss, are there other things which puts pressure on spider populations?

    – Anna 🙂

    • just2 Reply

      Hi Anna!
      I think the main pressures depends on the species and its environment (or what has been introduced or taken away from it). In Singapore’s case, I suppose the exotic pet trade might be a significant source of pressure for the tarantulas. Perhaps some of the invasive Javan Mynahs, the ones we frequently see, feed on small and young vulnerable spiders as well. Maybe the increasing intensity and frequency of rainfall [1] leaves spiders exposed to their predators if they don’t drown first.

      I really wish I could better answer your question with greater clarity but there really is a lot of uncertainty with regards to spiders.
      Justin

      1.http://www.weather.gov.sg/climate-past-climate-trends/

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