TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese researchers discovered a new species of wolf spider in southern and eastern Taiwan, with their findings published in the academic journal Zootaxa in early October.
While Taiwan has several species of wolf spider, they were all thought to be ground-dwelling and inhabit mainly grass and farmlands. The newly discovered species was found inhabiting forested areas, dwelling in holes in tree trunks.
The new species has been classified as the Hogna arborea, with the common name of Taiwanese tree-dwelling wolf spider. The species is slightly larger than other wolf spiders in Taiwan, according to reports.
The nest of the tree-dwelling wolf spider can be recognized by an irregular flat web over open holes in the trunks of old trees, reported the Miami Herald. Their bodies are heart-shaped and measure about 2 cm long, not including their legs.
The study outlining the new discovery was published by Lo Ying-yuan (羅英元), a researcher at National Taiwan Normal University, Cheng Ren-cheng (鄭任鈞) at National Chung Hsing University, and Wei Chi of Old Dominion University in Virginia.
According to a Facebook post by Lo, the species was first encountered during a 2018 survey in Yilan County. Since then, the Hogna arborea has been found in Hualien, Taitung, and Pintung Counties.
He notes that the species appears similar to a black-bellied wolf spider, common in other parts of the world. Lo believes the species may have been mistaken for the black-bellied wolf spider in the past, however, the research paper uses detailed analyses of the female genitalia to confirm that this is a distinct species.
The Hogna arborea, or Taiwanese tree-dwelling wolf spider. (Lo Ying-yuan, Facebook photo)
