<
https://theconversation.com/this-beautiful-peacock-spider-was-only-found-two-years-ago-now-it-could-be-dancing-its-last-dance-238437>
"If you notice a tiny, strikingly coloured spider performing an elaborate
courtship dance, you may have seen your first peacock spider.
New species of peacock spider are discovered every year; the tally is now 113.
One newly discovered species,
Maratus yanchep, is only known to exist in a
small area of coastal dunes near Yanchep, north of Perth.
As Perth’s suburbs sprawl ever further north and south, it means one problem –
the housing crisis – is worsening another, the extinction crisis.
The dunes which are home to
Maratus yanchep are just 20 metres from land
being cleared for large new estates.
If the species was formally listed as threatened, it could be protected. But
the spider was only described in 2022 and has not been listed on state or
federal threatened species lists. That means
Maratus yanchep has no
protection, according to the state government."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
