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Two New Spider Species Discovered: Masters of Camouflage

10/29/2025

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Summary

Story summary

A study published on October 24 in ZooKeys identifies two new bird-dropping crab spiders: Phrynarachne gorochovi from the Philippines and Phrynarachne storozhenkoi from Malaysia.
Both species resemble bird droppings to camouflage themselves.
Phrynarachne ceylonica was recorded for the first time in Laos, expanding its known range.
No Phrynarachne species had been officially documented in Borneo before this study, despite more than 80 observations by citizen scientists.

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Story summary

A study published on October 24 in ZooKeys identifies two new bird-dropping crab spiders: Phrynarachne gorochovi from the Philippines and Phrynarachne storozhenkoi from Malaysia.
Both species resemble bird droppings to camouflage themselves.
Phrynarachne ceylonica was recorded for the first time in Laos, expanding its known range.
No Phrynarachne species had been officially documented in Borneo before this study, despite more than 80 observations by citizen scientists.