Pimoa cthulhu facts for kids

Pimoa cthulhu is a special kind of spider. It belongs to a spider family called Pimoidae. This spider is one of 21 known species in its group, the Pimoa genus.

What's in a Name?

The name Pimoa comes from the Gosiute language spoken by people in Utah. It means "big legs," which is a cool name for a spider!

The second part of its name, cthulhu, was chosen by the scientist Gustavo Hormiga. He named it after a famous fictional creature called Cthulhu. This creature was created by the writer H. P. Lovecraft. Hormiga thought the spider's name should sound like something powerful and mysterious.

Where Does it Live?

The Pimoa cthulhu spider lives only in certain parts of western California. You can find it in Mendocino and Sonoma counties.

These spiders love to live in redwood forests. They often make their homes in places like old redwood stumps and fallen logs.

How Scientists Found This Spider

Scientists learn about new animals by collecting and studying them. For Pimoa cthulhu, four spiders were collected in the early 1990s. These spiders helped scientist Gustavo Hormiga describe the species in 1994.

One male spider was found in a hollow redwood stump in Mendocino Woodlands State Park. This spider became the main "type specimen" for the species. Other spiders, called "paratypes," were also collected from the same area. These specimens are now kept in special collections, like at the California Academy of Sciences, so other scientists can study them.

What Does it Look Like?

Pimoa cthulhu spiders have some unique features.

• Males: Male Pimoa cthulhu spiders have a special cluster of thick spines on a part of their leg-like feelers. This helps scientists tell them apart from other similar spiders. Their main body part (cephalothorax) is about 4.4 to 5.7 millimeters long. Their legs are covered in long, stiff hairs called setae.
• Females: Female Pimoa cthulhu spiders look a lot like a related species, P. vera. However, they have a unique, long, sausage-shaped part on their underside called an epigynum. This part is narrower at the end. Their cephalothorax is about 4.0 to 6.1 millimeters long. Their legs are a dark reddish color.

Both male and female spiders have a light to very light brown cephalothorax. This part is a bit darker around the edges. Their abdomen (the back part of their body) is dark gray with four whitish spots on top. Males have a brown sternum (the underside of their cephalothorax), while females have a reddish-brown sternum.