Kazakh Scientists Identify New Spider Species in the Kyzylkum Desert
Kazakh scientists discovered two new species of spider in the Kyzylkum desert in the country’s south.
Scientists from the Kazakh Zoology Institute have identified a total of 54 spider species, with 27 of them (over 50%) recorded in the Kyzylkum Desert for the first time. Notably, 10 species (19%) had never been documented within the borders of Kazakhstan. Some of these species are also found in neighboring countries, including Iran, the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as reported in a September 30 article by Kazinform.
Among the findings, two previously unknown species were identified and named anagraphis karamola and drassodes babenkoi, both of which belong to the ground spider family Gnaphosidae.
These spiders are primarily nocturnal, spending their daytime hours concealed in shelters such as under stones, in animal burrows, or within crevices in rocks or the ground.
