“Weird” creature – which hunts like an “assassin” – discovered as new species. To see the

Hidden in the leaves of a park in Australia, a “bizarre”-looking creature was searching for its next meal, its “spear-like” appendages ready.

Visiting scientists spotted the predatory animal and discovered a new species.

Researchers visited a park in Whitsunday, Queensland, several times between 2023 and 2024 to study local wildlife, according to a May 14 study published in the peer-reviewed Australian Journal of Taxonomy.

They were looking for a “bizarre group” of spiders scientifically known as Austrarchaea or pelican spiders, according to the study. These “iconic” spiders are specialized predators that prey on other spiders with “long, lance-like appendages.” Their hunting strategy has earned them the nickname “assassin spiders”.

During their visits to the park, researchers discovered eight spiders of unknown appearance, according to the study. They took a closer look at the animals and realized they had discovered a new species: Austrarchaea andersoni, or the Whitsunday outback pelican spider.

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The pelican spiders of the Whitsunday outback measure just over 0.1 inch in length and have an unusual body shape, the researchers said. They have a “high” head with “two pairs of rudimentary horns” and an abdomen with several “hump-like” bumps.

The photos show the reddish-brown coloration of pelican spiders from the Whitsunday outback. When its legs are folded, the spider appears quite compact and block-like. With its legs spread, the animal appears significantly larger and its body is easier to distinguish.

Perched on a branch, the new species almost looks like a dry leaf, as shown in a photo.

Whitsunday outback pelican spiders live in leaves on the rainforest floor, the study found.

The researchers said they named the new species “andersoni” in honor of Greg Anderson, an arachnologist at the Queensland Museum who first collected it in 2023.

The common name of the new species refers to the Whitsunday region where it was discovered and, so far, the only area where it has been found, the study said. Whitsunday, Queensland, is a region along the northeast coast of Australia, approximately 1,500 miles northwest of Sydney.

The new species was identified by its body shape, genitals and other subtle physical characteristics, according to the study. The researchers did not provide DNA analysis of the new species.

The research team included Michael Rix and Mark Harvey.

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