Six new species of minute goblin spiders are borrowing their names from mischievous ugly fictional characters first described by English children's author Enid Blyton.
The study authors say the rather hilarious ensemble of names is meant to shed light on the “remarkable biodiversity” of the spiders’ home of Sri Lanka. Fittingly, Bom, Snooky, and Tumpy are named after goblin characters while Snippy, Chippy, and Tiggy are named after Blyton’s famous brownies.
The team described a total of nine goblin spider species in six genera, two of which are reported for the first time outside of Australia, in Evolutionary Systematics. A total of 45 species in 13 genera live across the island, but what sets these six-eyed goblins apart is their extreme endemism. Some spiders can be found at several different locations while others live only in one single forest patch. Their extreme pickiness when it comes to habitat may make them unique to researchers, but it also makes them particularly vulnerable to a changing environment.
"Being short-range endemics with very restricted distributions, these species may prove to be very important when it comes to monitoring the effects of climate change and other threats for the forest habitats in Sri Lanka," said the researchers in a statement.
Sri Lanka faces deforestation like many other rainforest nations. Nearly one-third of the island is forested, with 8.6 percent classified as “primary forest” – the most diverse form of forest on the planet. Between 1990 and 2005, Sri Lanka lost nearly one-fifth of its forest cover, but the outlook is good. With environmental policies at a focal point, deforestation rates have dropped by as much as 35 percent in recent years.
Measuring just a few millimeters, goblin spiders are extremely small and difficult to find much like their namesakes. For several years researchers sifted through leaf litter along the forest floor at more than 100 different sites. Once collected, specimens were preserved in ethanol and described using a variety of methods, including dissections and microscopic examinations.
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