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Bob Marley’s song “High Tide or Low Tide” inspired the scientists when naming the spiders
A team of researchers from the University of Hamburg and the Queensland Museum made an interesting discovery as the coastline of the state withdrew a few miles towards the land. This phenomenon exposed a strange population of spiders adapted to living underwater, which got named after Bob Marley.
The spiders have been discovered during low tide in Queensland
The spiders struck the scientists with their characteristics, which revealed the species had been unknown to scientists until then. Therefore, before starting the study, researchers first had to find a name for the creatures. Their unique discovery was an inspiration while choosing the name, as it reminded scientists of Bob Marley’s song, “High Tide or Low Tide”. This convinced them to call the species Desis bobmarleyi.
Researchers developed a study on this new species of spiders, published in the journal Evolutionary Systematics. Also, they managed to identify two of its relatives, which have also been quite unknown to science, and produced more information on them.
The intertidal spiders are marine creatures
These creatures have been called intertidal spiders, given by the fact that they live exclusively underwater. They evolved special features to survive a marine life after they kept hiding in seashells and corals when high tide came. By building silk bubbles around them, they created an environment where they could breathe. Then, as soon as water receded, they remained roaming around the surroundings revealed by the low tide.
You can easily spot these intertidal spiders by their bodies colored in red and brown, and their orange-brown legs. Also, they are covered in long grey hairs. The bigger specimen is the female, measuring about 9 mm, while the male is only 6 mm long. Researchers couldn’t tell where the species lives, as they only spotted it around north-eastern Queensland, populating the Great Barrier Reef.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
