New Species of Venomous Tarantula Discovered in a Miami Zoo

Researchers discovered a new species of tarantula that was found on the grounds of a Miami Zoo. New York Post reported that the said species of tarantula is venomous and can live up to two decades.

A zookeeper first spotted the Pine Rockland trapdoor spider at Zoo Miami in 2012, but researchers discovered only this year that the spider is an entirely new species.

New Species of Tarantula Found in Miami Zoo

With the Latin name "Ummidia richmond," the new species looks like a "small, shiny, black" tarantula, Mail Online reported.

The spider was specifically found in the Pine Rockland forest that surrounds the Miami zoo. The zookeeper took a picture of the specimen for identification. However, the said tarantula did not match with any existing records of known species in the region.

After more than two years, another tarantula was found, and this time, it was sent to Piedmont College in Georgia, where experts evaluated it, Independent reported.

"They have a rough carapace on their front half and a silvery-grey abdomen with a light-colored patch on top," Dr. Rebecca Godwin, an assistant professor of biology at Piedmont College, told the Daily Mail.

Godwin, who identified the spider as a new species in a study published earlier this month, described the new tarantula species as "quite beautiful spiders."

With legs extended, a male Pine Rockland trapdoor spider is approximately the size of a one-pound coin, while the female is estimated to be two or three times larger.

Frank Ridgley, the conservation chief Frank Ridgley of the Zoo Miami, noted that the tarantulas found in the zoo were named after how they catch their prey from beneath a "trapdoor" of vegetation and soil and live within rock formations.

Godwin believes that the spiders found in the Miami zoo were "wandering males," while sightings of females are rarer.

Godwin noted that the male tarantula takes up to seven years to mature before leaving its shelter to find a mate and dies shortly after.

The Behavior of the 'New' Tarantula

Ridgley noted that spiders like the news species of tarantula rely on their size and strength to subdue their prey while injecting their venom to liquefy the insides of the food.

Apart from being venomous, experts noted that a bite from this tarantula would be as painful as a bee sting.

"Similar species are ambush predators - they create a web burrow down into soft and sandy substrate with a hinged door at the surface," said Ridgley.

Not all, but most of the species of tarantulas that were discovered are burrowers that live on the ground. There are even species that can eat small birds, toads, frogs, and mice. National Geographic noted that a tarantula might not need to eat for a month after a large meal.

Ridgley said that discovering the new species of tarantula in a fragment of an endangered forest highlights the importance of preserving these ecosystems.

Ridgley added that the venoms of the tarantulas had been found to contain compounds that can be potentially used as pain medications and cancer treatments.

WATCH: Zoo Miami Helps Discover A Brand New Spider Species In Miami - From CBS Miami