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MUFONET-BBS NETWORK - MUTUAL UFO NETWORK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCIENCE NEWS - WIRE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³=START= XMT: 06:11 Mon Aug 05 EXP: 06:00 Mon Aug 12 ³ ³ ³ ³RARE, BLIND TROGLODYTE SPIDER FOUND IN AUSTRALIAN DESERT ³ ³ ³ ³SYDNEY (AUG. 5) - A blind, troglodyte spider long believed ³ ³extinct has been found alive and thriving under the ³ ³Nullarbor Plains desert in South Australia, the Australian ³ ³Museum announced Monday. ³ ³ ³ ³A relative of the trap-door spider, it is known as ³ ³Troglodiplura lowryi, who was forced underground millions of³ ³years ago when Australia's climate dried up, the museum's ³ ³head of arachnology Michael Gray said. ³ ³ ³ ³Furthermore, Troglodiplura is one of only three blind, ³ ³underground dwelling spider species in the world, the ³ ³experts believe. ³ ³ ³ ³Gray said he found eight juveniles of the rare spiders in a ³ ³cave under the Nullarbor on a desert expedition last month. ³ ³ ³ ³And because eight spiders were found in only two days, there³ ³was likely to be a colony, he said. ³ ³ ³ ³A preserved Troglodiplura was first found more than 20 years³ ³ago, but after repeated unsuccessful searches throughout the³ ³Nullarbor, scientists declared the spider extinct. ³ ³ ³ ³Gray said there is a great deal of life under the Nullarbor ³ ³that could not be seen because of cave-ins and collapses ³ ³that prevented people from entering the caves. ³ ³ ³ ³"Insects can get in, however, and that's what these spiders ³ ³feed on," he said. ³ ³ ³ ³"The spiders have adapted to sensing prey from a distance by³ ³monitoring local air currents and vibrations of insects. ³ ³ ³ ³"The spiders were forced into caves millions of years ago ³ ³when Australia's climate dried up," Gray said. ³ ³ ³ ³"A lot of species were forced underground, but only only 12 ³ ³have survived to become troglodytes." ³ ³ ³ ³Animals forced underground had to evolve and adapt to their ³ ³surroundings, genetically reorganising their entire make-up,³ ³he said. "They lose their sight, develop pigmentation and ³ ³their limbs lengthen with cave adaptation." ³ ³ ³ ³The young spiders will be kept alive for as long as ³ ³possible, so they can be used for examination and breeding, ³ ³Gray said. ³ ³ ³ ³=END= ³

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