Taczanowskia waska
| Taczanowskia waska | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Araneidae |
| Genus: | Taczanowskia |
| Species: | T. waska |
| Binomial name | |
| Taczanowskia waska Díaz-Guevara, Bentley & Dupérré, 2026 | |
Taczanowskia waska is a species of spider, first formally described in 2026. Discovered in Ecuador, it is known for having growths on its exoskeleton that mimic the signs of Cordyceps infection.[1]
Behavior
Rather than spinning a web, T. waska plays dead and then seizes passing prey with its front legs.[2]
Discovery
Naturalist Alexander Griffin Bentley discovered the spider in 2025, while leading a tour group for the conservation organization Waska Amazonia.[2] After he posted photographs of the specimen to iNaturalist, users identified it as a member of the genus Taczanowskia, and David Ricardo Díaz-Guevara of the Ecuadorian Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad identified it as a new species;[3] arachnologist Nadine Dupérré subsequently located another specimen, collected in Bolivia in 1903, in the holdings of a museum in Germany.[2]
References
- ↑ “The Cordyceps spider”: Taczanowskia waska sp. nov. (Araneae: Araneidae), a new spider species and a novel case of mimicry of an araneopathogenic fungus (Cordycipitaceae: Gibellula), by David R. Díaz-Guevara, Alexander Griffin Bentley, and Nadine Dupérré; in Zootaxa; Vol. 5760 No. 5: 26 Feb. 2026; p. 563-576; DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5760.5.4
- 1 2 3 ‘Last of Us’ Spider Pretends to Be a Zombie Fungus—and It's Bizarrely Brilliant, by Matthew Phelan; at Gizmodo; published March 23, 2026; retrieved March 27, 2026
- ↑ ‘The Last of Us’ on Eight Legs; by Alexa Robles-Gil; in The New York Times; published March 20, 2026; retrieved March 27, 2026