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New marine spider species named after Bob Marley
A team of researchers has discovered a new water-adapted
species of spiders from tropical Queensland, Australia, and have named it after
a renowned Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter Bob Marley.
The singer whose song 'High Tide or Low Tide', inspired the researchers as
the spider lives in a 'high tide low tide' habitat.
In 2009, the sea along the coastline of Queensland in Australia receded to such
an extent that it exposed a population of water-adapted spiders.
The observant researchers later described these spiders as the species new to
science and were quickly associated their emergence with Bob Marley and his song
'High Tide or Low Tide'.
Researchers Barbara Baehr, Robert Raven and Danilo Harms from Queensland Museum
and the University of Hamburg, who conducted the study, describe the intertidal
spider and are truly marine.
They have adapted to the underwater life by hiding in barnacle shells, corals or
kelp holdfast during high tide and breathe by building air chambers from silk.
Once the sea water recedes, though, they are out and about hunting small
invertebrates that roam the surfaces of the nearby rocks, corals and plants.
The new species, listed under the scientific name of Desis bobmarleyi, are
described based on male and female specimens spotted and collected from brain
Both the sexes are characterised by predominantly red-brown colours, while their
legs are orange-brown and covered with a dense layer of long, thin and dark grey
The authors explained, "The song 'High Tide or Low Tide' promotes love and
friendship through all struggles of life".
The research appears in the open access journal Evolutionary Systematics.
, marine spider