Thursday, February 14, 2008

No Eyed-Big Eyed Spider: Adelocosa anops


I know it's COOL to learn about SPIDER!!!
Let's do it---
Kaua’i Cave Wolf Spider
Adelocosa anops
Classification
Kingdom: Anamalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnid
Order: Araneae
Suborder: --
Family: Lycosidae
Genus: Adelocosa
Species: Anops

This spider is the rarest species of the wolf spider family, Lycosidae. 1917, the scientist found it in the caves of the island Kauai of Hawaii. The five caves that they found it are damp, dark, and they were in the roc
ks of the volcano. The age of the caves that Adelocosa anops lives in are around 5 millions years old. The scientists barley find this special species: in 2004, they didn't find it in the caves not even once. It is likely the lack of spider sightings in the caves is due to many factors contributing to a sub-optimal environment.


Adults are about 12.7-19.0mm (0.5-0.75in) in total body length. The most remarkable feature of A. anops is its eyes, as seen in its curious name of the No Eyed-Big Eyed Spider. Why? because A. anops is lack of the most wolf wpider's common characteristic---a distinctive eye pattern of two large eyes located within the middle row of eight eyes. That's why : ).

As a predator, A. anops actively stalks its prey through chemo-tacticle sensory organs. Its likely food source is the Kaua’i Cave Amphipod (Spelaeorchestia koloana) and other arthropods.




The
A. anops is adapted to deal with the low oxygen levels and high carbon dioxide levels of the dark and stagnant zones, based upon laboratory experiments and observations in known stagnant zones by the experts.

Different to the other spiders,
A. anops only has 15-30 eggs are reproduce in each egg sac. (maybe that's why it barley be found!!) Female spiders carry their egg sac in their mouth until the fully developed offspring hatch. A. anops hatchlings are generally larger than in other species, and like other species the spiderlings hang onto their mother with the specialized comb-like teeth on their claws.
**A. anops has been listed as Endangered by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) since January 14, 2000, as has S. koloana, the Kaua'i Cave Amphipod.**

Many conservation issues are tied to A. anops. There is a general lack of taxonomic knowledge about Hawaiian spiders, which are incredibly diverse due to the island geography fostering small populations in highly localized habitats. The presence of non-native competitors and predators decrease the survival rate of A. anops by decreasing the food supply available to the wolf spider and by decreasing the numbers of reproductive wolf spiders.

source :

2001 Earlham College- biological Diversity 2006: Adelocosa anops -Kaua'i Cave Wolf Spider

"Kauai cave wolf spider." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 6 Feb 2008, 18:16 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 15 Feb 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kauai_cave_wolf_spider&oldid=189543710>.



It's a amazing species- cave spider of the Kauai island~

When I saw wolf spiders in the first time, I was threaten by their scaring looking... They are fluffy and bigger than the others.
After did some research, my brother wants to buy one wolf spider for being a pet... then I said no because I don't want to catch food for it!!!!


And the silliest thing during blogging was, I deleted all the content that I almost finished it by adding two more words... then I stopped and wait till next next day and type it up again! (I don't like computer thing too much any way...)


1 comment:

Mr. Olson said...

Rather than typing a lot (without saving) and risking losing it all, remember to hit "Save" periodically (e.g., the "Save Post" button).