Seven new species of spider, including a type of tarantula completely new to science, have been discovered in a Northern Territory national park.
The discoveries were made by a team participating in the Bush Blitz nature program which saw 16 scientists, Indigenous rangers and field assistants, searching the 1.3m hectare Judbarra park for new species.
“The spider team, led by Dr Robert Raven from the Queensland Museum, had had their heads down all day in search of spider holes when luck finally struck and they spotted a promising burrow,” Professor David McInnes, chief executive of Earthwatch, said in a statement.
“Sophie Harrison, a PhD student from the University of Adelaide, started digging and found a tarantula so new and different that it doesn’t fit into any of the existing genus of spider species. It looks just as you’d expect, brown and hairy. But the scientists say it’s beautiful!”
Harrison told Guardian Australia the team spent “probably a good hour” digging up the burrow.
“When I was about up to my knees we finally saw a big beautiful tarantula sitting at the bottom, so that was really exciting,” she said.
She described the spider as “medium to small” on the scale of tarantulas.
“Its mouth parts are quite unique,” she said. “It’s got a unique process and obviously has never been found there before.”
The spider has been taken back to a lab, alive, to further determine its newness and test its venom.
“It’s definitely a new species,” she said, “but we need to take it back to the lab to describe it and to say exactly how it differs and that will need to be published before it’s listed as a new species.”
The process for naming the new spider – and other species discovered on the trip – could be based on a discovery team member, physical attributes or the area in which it was discovered.
The Bush Blitz program is a partnership between the federal government, BHP Billiton’s Sustainable Communities corporate charity, and Earthwatch Australia.
Michael Evans, a mining engineer with BHP Billiton in South Australia, answered an internal callout to join the Bush Blitz trip.
“I was interested in how much we could actually contribute,” he told Guardian Australia.
Early on the trip one scientist found a potentially rare frog, which Evans said created a buzz around the camp.
“I was always of the opinion that finding new species was incredibly rare and I’d be very, very fortunate if I was a part of it, and then this scientist came back,” he said.
The following day Evans took part in the spider burrow dig.
“This thing was enormous, incredibly interesting looking and obviously a member of the tarantula family,” he said.
“I don’t really have a fear, I probably have an unhealthy respect for spiders … so I was lucky enough to hold it and Robert was kind enough to promise that it probably wouldn’t bite me and I was prepared to take that risk.”
Other discoveries included a new species of trapdoor spider, a known species of eel in an environment it has never been seen in before and flock of endangered species.
Judbarra, also known as Gregory park, is home to 15 threatened species, Bush Blitz said.
