Tartarus mullamullangensis

Tartarus mullamullangensis
Tartarus mullamullangensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Araneomorphae
Family: Stiphidiidae
Genus: Tartarus
Species: T. mullamullangensis
Binomial name
Tartarus mullamullangensis
Gray, 1973
Synonyms

Baiami mullamullangensis

Tartarus mullamullangensis, informally known as the Mullamullang cave spider, is a palm-sized, long-legged cave spider from Western Australia. Completely adapted to cave living, it is blind and totally lacks pigmentation, giving it a creamy white appearance.

The cylindrical lampshade-shaped web is spun out between rocks.

The species is closely related to spiders found in forests of Southern Australia. This makes it likely that T. mullamullangensis is a relict species from the time when the now arid region was much more humid.

Name

The species name is derived from Mullamullang, a cave system in the Nullarbor Plain of Western and Southern Australia.

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