Australian trapdoor spider facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Australian trapdoor spider |
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The Moggridgea rainbowi, also known as the Australian trapdoor spider, is a small spider. It is found only on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. This means it is endemic to that one special place. Scientists first officially wrote about this spider in 1919.
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Where the Australian Trapdoor Spider Lives
This spider makes its home in burrows, which are like small tunnels in the ground. You can find these burrows just above where the ocean's high tide reaches.
Spider Homes on Kangaroo Island
Scientists have found and studied these spiders in two different places on Kangaroo Island. These two groups of spiders live about 80 kilometers (50 miles) apart. Studies of their genomes (which are like their genetic blueprints) show that these groups became separate between 1 and 6 million years ago. This long time shows that young spiders do not travel far from where their mothers live.
A Long Journey from Africa
The closest spider relative to the Australian trapdoor spider is an African species called M. intermedia. Scientists believe that M. rainbowi probably traveled all the way to Australia from Africa. This amazing journey might have happened between 2 and 16 million years ago.
Australia separated from a supercontinent called Gondwana about 95 million years ago. Since the spiders arrived much later, it's thought they came by oceanic dispersal. This means they might have floated across the ocean on pieces of plants or trees, like natural rafts!
How the Trapdoor Spider Behaves
These spiders live in short burrows that are about 6 centimeters (2.4 inches) deep. When they are young, baby spiders stay with their mothers. After a while, they build their own burrows very close by.
Impact of the 2019-2020 Bushfires
During the terrible 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, many areas of Kangaroo Island were burned. About one-third of the island was affected. Sadly, all the known groups of M. rainbowi spiders in the Western River area were destroyed by these fires. As of July 2020, no spiders have been seen in those areas since the fires.
