New species of Tarantula discovered with wildly large genitalia

Scientists have identified four new tarantula species in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. The new spiders were, scientifically speaking, such freaks that, on a physical and genetic level, the researchers thought it only appropriate to invent an entirely new genus to categorize them: Satyrex.

Named after the mythological sitar from Greek mythology and the Latin word for “king,” it’s also a fitting name, as the male’s most defining feature is the appendage it uses for mating, called a palp. What makes it so special? These Satyrex spiders have a larger palp than any other spider recorded in this group.

New Tarantula Species Found With Unusually Large Genitalia

Publication of their results in the journal ZooKeyssay scientists Satyrex ferox can reach about 14 centimeters, with its palp extending up to five centimeters. This is what we would refer to as gifted for a spider. Maybe a little abnormally large actually. Disproportionally, even.

Researchers believe this may be part of a survival tactic. In species where females can become aggressive, longer palps may allow males to mate from a safe distance so they don’t become a post-sex snack.

Behaviorally, these spiders were kind of a-holes. They tend to be violent, especially those ferociousas the name specifically suggests, often react aggressively to minor disturbances. When irritated, it raises its front legs and produces a hissing sound by rubbing specialized hairs together.

All Satyrex species are fossorial, meaning they live underground and build burrows near bushes or rocks. Their reclusive nature probably contributed to their late discovery.