'Rare' new giant trapdoor spider species discovered in Australia

A new giant species of trapdoor spider has been discovered in Australia by researchers at the Queensland Museum.

The rare arachnid can only be found in the Brigalow Belt in Central Queensland.

The name of this new species - Euoplos dignitas - is derived from the Latin 'dignitas' meaning dignity or greatness, reflecting the impressive size and nature of the spider.

It also pays homage to Project DIG, who supported the research into understanding Queensland’s biodiversity.

This type of golden trapdoor spider lives in open woodland habitats and builds its burrows in the black soils of the Central Queensland region.This species can be found in only a very few locations around Eidsvold and Monto in Central Queensland and has lost much of its habitat due to land clearing, likely making it an endangered species.

Scientists have discovered that the female of the species is far larger than their male counterpart, which unlike mammals is often the case with spiders.

The spider can live for over 20 years in the wild and can grow to around 5cm in length.

One of the lead researchers and principal curator of arachnology with the Queensland Museum Network, Dr Michael Rix called it "a big, beautiful species" and that experts were excited to “scientifically document this new species.”

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