Overview

• Researchers described four new tarantula species from the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa and reclassified Satyrex longimanus into the newly established genus Satyrex.
• Satyrex spiders inhabit fossorial burrows across the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa, remaining hidden beneath shrubs and rocks.
• Integrative morphological and genetic analyses demonstrated that these five species are distinct from their closest Monocentropus relatives, warranting a separate genus.
• Male Satyrex palps measure between 2.2 and 3.9 times their carapace length—the longest recorded among tarantulas—and are believed to reduce the risk of fatal female aggression.
• Published in ZooKeys on August 4, the study sets the stage for planned behavioral observations to test the palps’ protective function during mating.