Right is an old tarantula I kept that was 4 or 5" DLS. Left is a trapdoor in the same genus as this article with the exact same sized cephalothorax and abdomen, and a legspan not fair offNew species of trapdoor spider confirmed in Australia
A trio of arachnologists at Queensland Museum Collections and Research Center, has described the rediscovery of a species of giant trapdoor spider believed to live in hidden parts of Queensland, Australia. In their study, reported in Journal of Arachnology, Michael Rix, Jeremy Wilson and Paul...phys.org
That's a female Selenotholus sp. right? If so, wow... That Euoplos is a monster! I've considered buying one, but I've only got Arbanitis and Stanwellia sp. atm.
Yep, a full size female Selenotholus. I've sold her on but I do still have that same trapdoor.
I got my regalis from Southern Invertebrates a year or so ago. She was about 80mm legspan and is bigger now that she’s moulted. I got a few smaller ones too, love to get a male.
It’s pretty cool that they were able to recollect specimens that were previously unidentified and unlabelled and match it. It’s great it’s being picked up by mainstream media too as it’s bound to increase interest and funding for scientific institutions. Another article said it was 50mm in body length, even still there are larger spiders out there, but any time there’s work done on Australian arachnids it’s exciting, as we are really lacking in resources dedicated to spiders.
Don't count on that. Queensland is progressive thanks to both individual efforts and a general preservation mindset. Queensland has more national parks and nature preserves than half of the US. They also seriously incorporate the aborigines into land protection affairs.
