Tartarus mullamullangensis
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| Mullamullang cave spider | ||||||||||||||||
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| Tartarus mullamullangensis Gray, 1973 |
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Baiami mullamullangensis |
Tartarus mullamullangensis (commonly called Mullamullang cave spider) is a palm-sized, long-legged cave spider from Western Australia. Completely adapted to cave living, it is blind and totally lacks pigmentation, giving it a creamy white appearance.
The cylindrical lampshade-shaped web is spun out between rocks.
The species is closely related to spiders found in forests of Southern Australia. This makes it likely that T. mullamullangensis is a relict species from the time when the now arid region was much more humid.
[edit] Name
The species name is derived from Mullamullang, a cave system in the Nullarbor Plain of Western and Southern Australia.
