Environment

Cerbalus Aravensis: A Giant Spider Discovered In Israel

by Yuliya Talmazan | January 12, 2010 at 10:04 am

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The squeamish, stop reading now! A new species of spider called Cerbalus aravensis was discovered by scientists in the Arava region of Israel. What is so special about the newly discovered spider? Well, it is huge. The spider's leg extends 15 centimeters. That makes Cerbalus aravensis the largest spider in the Middle East.

Researchers from the University of Haifa say Cerbalus aravensis is nocturnal and lives underground.

The habitat of Cerbalus aravensis is threatened. The spider lives in sand dunes of Samar, which are slowly disappearing due to a more pronounced agricultural and mining exploitation of these lands in the recent years. Researchers are saying the spider is facing extinction if its habitat is destroyed.

"The new discovery shows how much we still have to investigate, and that there are likely to be many more species that are unknown to us...If we do not preserve the few habitats that remain for these species, they will become extinct before we can even discover them."

Theraphosa blondi, more commonly know as the Goliath Bird-eating Spider, enjoys the reigns of being the largest spider in the world with a body length of 16 cm. The smallest spider Patu digua resides in Borneo and is less than 0.37 mm in length.