New spider family found in US caves

WASHINGTON: A team of amateur cave explorers and arachnologists has found a new family of spiders in caves and old-growth redwood forests in Oregon and California, US researchers said Friday.

Entomologists at the California Academy of Sciences said the spider, named Trogloaptor -- or "cave robber" -- for its lethal front claws, had such unique evolutionary features that it represented not just a new genus or species, but also a new family of spiders.

The study, published in the journal ZooKeys, noted that finding a new, previously unknown family was rare, even for species-rich insects and arachnids.

Trogloraptor hangs beneath rudimentary webs spun below cave ceilings. It measures about 1.6 inches (four centimeters) wide when its legs are extended.

The spider's impressive claws "suggest that they are fierce, specialized predators," though scientists have not yet determined what they eat and how they attack and kill their prey, according to the study.

It pointed to strong evidence suggesting Trogloraptor was a close relative of goblin spiders.

Citizen scientists from the Western Cave Conservancy and arachnologists from the California Academy of Sciences found the spiders living in caves in southwestern Oregon. Scientists from San Diego State University found more of the creatures in old-growth redwood forests in far northwestern California.

The California specimen has dusky markings that differ from the cave species, leading scientists to believe that there may be at least one more Trogloraptor species.

Research on the spiders at the California Academy of Sciences was paid in part by the National Science Foundation, along with a private fund.

The forests in the coastal regions from California to the Canadian province of British Columbia are known for hosting unique and ancient flora and fauna, including tailed frogs, mountain beavers and coast redwoods.

"If such a large and bizarre spider could have gone undetected for so long, who knows what else may lurk undiscovered in this remarkable part of the world," the study said. (AFP)

Japan scientist makes violin strings from spider silk

TOKYO: A Japanese scientist said Tuesday he has made violin strings out of spider silk and claims that -- in the right hands -- they produce a beautiful sound.

Thousands of the tiny strands can be wound together to produce a strong but flexible string that is perfect for the instrument, said Shigeyoshi Osaki, professor of polymer chemistry at Nara Medical University.

Osaki, who has been working with spider silk for 35 years, has previously suggested the material could be used for surgical sutures or for bullet proof vests, but his passion for the violin inspired him to create something with a musical twist.

In the process of weaving the threads, their shape changes from cylindrical to polygonal, which means they fit together much better, Osaki told AFP.

"During the assembly of normal threads there are many spaces between individual fibres," he said.

"What we achieved left no space among the filaments. It made the strings stronger. This can have all sorts of applications in our day-to-day lives," he said, adding 300 female Nephila maculata spiders had provided his raw materials.

The strength and durability of spider silk is not a new discovery, with previous studies showing it can withstand high temperatures and the effects of ultraviolet light.

Osaki once produced a rope spun from spider silk that he said could theoretically support a 600 kilogram (1,300 pound) weight.

Now his latest creation is making waves among musicians, who have praised
the sonorous quality of the spider silk violin strings for their "soft and profound timbre".

"Professional violinists have said they can tell the difference" whether the strings are on a Stradivarius or on Osaki's own $1,200 violin, he said.

"It's one thing to create scientifically meaningful items, but I also wanted to produce something that would be socially accepted by ordinary people," he said.

Details of Osaki's research will be published in Physical Review Letters, a journal of the American Physical Society. (AFP)