South African researchers have recently discovered in the wild south of Angola a specimen of spider hitherto unknown on our planet, which has the distinction of wearing a large horn on the head.
This new type of fungus was discovered during a 2015-2016 biodiversity survey conducted in the Okavango region, between Angola, Namibia and Botswana.
During his exploration, John Midgley, of the Pietermaritzburg Museum of Natural History, stumbled upon one, then several specimens of a spider with unpublished features.
"When I received a picture [of this specimen] on my phone, I did not believe my eyes," his colleague Ian Engelbrecht of the South African National Institute of Biodiversity told AFP and the University of Pretoria.
"This spider is absolutely unique in the world. She has that big horn right in the middle of her head. No other known spider in the world has that, "he added.
Presented in the journal African Invertebrates , the new species, from the family of "baboon spiders", has been christened Ceratogyrus (a family of spiders) attonitifer, from the Latin "attonit" which means "astonishment" or "fascination".
South African researchers have only sketched the description of their new specimen.
"We have absolutely no idea of the functions of their horn," said Dr.Engelbrecht, "it's a mystery."