Our planet is inhabited by at least 50,000 species of spiders, as announced today by the international team of publishers behind the World Spider Catalog (WSC), which is based at the Natural History Museum of Bern (Switzerland). The 50,000th species was described by the arachnologist Kimberly S. Marta and her colleagues from Brazil. It belongs to the family of jumping spiders (Salticidae) and hunts its prey on shrubs and trees in Southern Brazil, Uruguay, and around Buenos Aires. The species name honours the now extinct ethnic group of the Minuane people who lived in the same area. The indigenous name is a reference to a cold southwester of polar origin, typical for the region.
50,000 spider species discovered
Press release
Guriurius minuano is the name of a newly discovered spider species from South America. It is the 50,000th spider species reported to the World Spider Catalog (WSC), which is based at the Natural History Museum of Bern (Switzerland). Halfway there, experts believe.
