‘Peculiar’ hairy creature found way up in mountains of Tajikistan. It’s a new species
Thousands of feet up in the mountains of Central Asia, a “peculiar” creature moved along the rocky ground. Its remote home likely helped it avoid detection — until now.
Hiking scientists spotted the hairy animal and discovered a new species.
Researchers ventured into the “challenging-to-access Pamir Mountains” of Tajikistan in 2023 to survey wildlife, according to a study published July 12 in the peer-reviewed journal Zoosystematics and Evolution. The remote region’s biodiversity had been “largely neglected.”
During the expedition, researchers found an “unexpected” pair of wolf spiders hiding under rocks, the study said. They took a closer look at the animals and realized they’d discovered a new species: Pamirosa kudratbekovi, or Kudratbekov’s wolf spider.
Kudratbekov’s wolf spiders are less than an inch in length, the study said. Their hairy bodies have eight eyes and eight legs.
Photos show the spider’s dark reddish brown coloring. Its rear end has a “blurred herringbone pattern.”
Kudratbekov’s wolf spiders have “unique” genitalia, the study said. Males have spiral-shaped genitalia, and females have a “screw-shaped” reproductive organ, something “unknown in other wolf spiders.”
Researchers described the new species as “peculiar” and placed it in a new genus named Pamirosa after the surrounding mountains.
Kudratbekov’s wolf spiders live under rocks at elevations of about 15,400 feet, the study said.
Researchers said they named the new species after Uvaido Kudratbekov for helping organize the expedition where the spider was discovered.
So far, Kudratbekov’s wolf spider has only been found in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan, the study said. Tajikistan is a landlocked Central Asian country bordering Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
The new species was identified by its genitalia, body shape, spines and other subtle physical features, the study said.
The research team included Alexander Fomichev, Mikhail Omelko and Yuri Marusik.
This story was originally published July 18, 2024 at 7:26 AM with the headline "‘Peculiar’ hairy creature found way up in mountains of Tajikistan. It’s a new species."
