Scientists discover new tarantula species with record-long genitalia
Discovered in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, scientists identified four tarantula species that require a new genus to categorize them.
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Four newly-discovered tarantula species were just dubbed the “Genital King,” and for tarantulas, size really does matter.
The species are all under the genus Satyrex, which loosely translates to the epithet that Tinder dates around the world would love to boast. Still, they would certainly fall short compared to this tarantula, which can be found in southeastern Yemen and southwestern Oman, countries that share a border in Asia on the Arabian Peninsula.
A study published by the peer-reviewed scientific journal ZooKeys revealed the discovery of the well-endowed spiders.
Spiders don’t have penises, but instead have pedipalps, which are secondary sexual organs that deliver sperm to females, said Alireza Zamani, the arachnologist and taxonomist at the University of Turku in Finland, who discovered the spider.
Satyrex compared to other tarantulas
Most tarantulas’ pedipalps are around 1.5 times larger than the carapace, their midsection, according to Zamani. It’s “extremely rare,” but sometimes pedipalps can be 2.5 times longer.
However, for the Genital King, “it is almost four times longer than the carapace,” said Zamani. “It’s almost as long as the longest legs of the tarantula.”
If the tarantula swapped roles, and those proportions belonged to a human instead, their penis would almost be the length of their leg.
Why is it so big?
How did the spider develop such a big member? Well, researchers don’t know, but they have a hypothesis.
“This elongation has happened as a result of what we call sexual selection,” Zamani said. “The females of this species, and probably others that we are currently considering in this genus, are very, very aggressive.”
The tarantulas are more aggressive than any species in the Americas.
So, the running theory is that the tarantulas have such long pedipalps because it makes it easier for them to administer their sperm into the female and make a quick getaway before the female tarantula can attack.
Where did their name come from?
The tarantula’s Latin name is a combination of Satyr, a mythological creature known for having a large, erect penis, and rex, which means king.
“It’s interesting for a wide group of people and not just a group of scientists who study them,” said Zamani. “So I spent a lot of time thinking about ‘What name should I pick?'”
“It just was at the back of my mind all the time,” said Zamani.
It took Zamani and a colleague a month to come up with the name.
And, ironically enough, when trying to come up with the name, he kept thinking of a famous quote from Spider-Man.
” I usually say this thing that ‘With great power comes great responsibility,'” said Zamani. “If you have the power to actually name a species, then you have to be responsible to give it a good name, something memorable, especially if it’s something that creates interest.”
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com