Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
A new and large species of spider has been found living in Queensland, Australia, and researchers say it's in need of protection.
Rare and colourful, the tarantula-like creature is a type of golden trapdoor spider belonging to the genus Euoplos, which since 2017 has been the subject of an extensive research program, according to a study published March 15 in the Journal of Arachnology.
Now called Euoplos dignita, the species was first discovered in the early 20th century, near the towns of Monto and Eidsvold, but it remained undescribed and unnamed due to a lack of research, said study author Michael Rix, principal curator of arachnology at the Queensland Museum Network, via email.
For years, there have been only a handful of Euoplos dignita specimens in the Queensland Museum's collection, all but one of which were collected before the 1970s. There were no known males among them — which posed a significant obstacle for Rix and his research team.
Having a male specimen is important for being able to identify and name a species within the Mygalomorphae order, which Euoplos spiders are part of, said Paula Cushing, senior curator in vertebrate zoology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Cushing, who is also secretary of the American Arachnological Society, wasn't involved in the study.
"Oftentimes, in order to figure out if what you're looking at is new to science, you almost always, with spiders, have to examine the genitalia," she added.
So the researchers needed new genetic material they could test from a living male specimen — which meant they had to find one.
They finally spotted what they were looking for on a roadside in the Eidsvold-Monto region after a three-day search in May 2021. It was the first collection of the species since the 1990s.
After comparing their find to other specimens in the museum's collection, the research team officially described Euoplos dignitas. Dignitas is "Latin for dignity or greatness, in reference to the really spectacular nature of this spider," Rix said in a YouTube video published by the Queensland Museum Network. "It's a big, beautiful species."
Females of the species have a red-brown carapace, burrow-building behaviour and can grow to 2 inches long, which is "very large" for this type of spider, according to the study. The males have a "striking 'honey-red' carapace and legs," and their abdomens are grayish brown.
"These spiders are pretty cool because they are so long lived. Some trapdoor mygalomorphs can live for literally decades," Cushing said. "The longest-lived trapdoor tarantula was 43 years old."
Protection is needed for this rare species, the researchers also found. When the researchers located the male Euoplos dignitas specimen, they observed that most of the roadside habitats that would typically be available for this species had been cleared for agriculture or highly disturbed, which is "extremely destructive for trapdoor spiders, their burrows and the integrity of their habitat," according to the researchers.
"Until detailed survey work is completed, we won't know how many remaining populations exist," Rix said. "But the natural range of the species is small (and) highly fragmented, and we were only able to discover one living (specimen) at the time."
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.