ASTANA – Kazakh scientists discovered two new species of spider in the Kyzylkum desert in the country’s south.
Photo credit: Institute of Zoology of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Scientists from the Kazakh Zoology Institute identified 54 species of spiders, with 27 of them (over 50%) being recorded in the desert for the first time. Notably, 10 species (19%) had never before been documented within Kazakhstan’s borders. Several of these species are also found in countries such as Iran, the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, according to a Sept. 30 article by Kazinform.
Two previously unknown species were described as anagraphis karamola and drassodes babenkoi, both belonging to the ground spider family Gnaphosidae.
These spiders are predominantly nocturnal, spending their days hidden in shelters such as behind stones, in animal burrows, or within crevices in rocks or the ground.
