![]() ![]() Peter J?ger explains, "It is our goal to record and preserve the diversity of all life on our planet, i.e., the biodiversity. New methods, such as genetic analyses, can be combined with traditional approaches and aid in the identification of new species. Taxonomic and systematic research forms the strongest core competence at the Senckenberg Research Institutes. "However, the unique mode of locomotion also serves as a criterion to distinguish the species," says Dr. Based on minute differences in their sex organs, he was able to distinguish Cebrennus rechenbergi from the closely related species Cebrennus villosus in Tunisia. Peter J?ger was able to determine that the flic-flac spider really constitutes a new species. The first scientific description of a species of flic-flac spider "This robot may be employed in agriculture, on the ocean floor or even on Mars," according to its inventor. The Tabbot, named after "Tabacha" (the word for spider in the Berber language), can move by walking as well as by turning somersaults. Rechenberg was so inspired by the flic-flac spider's ingenious mode of locomotion that he developed a 25cm long model of a spider robot. The bionics expert discovered Cebrennus rechenbergi during an expedition in Morocco and passed it on to Dr. J?ger named the flic-flac spider after the scientist Prof. At almost 2 meters per second, the flic-flac jumps allow the spider to move twice as fast as in simple walking mode.ĭr. It displays this behavior when provoked, e.g., by a congener, a camel spider, a scorpion or a human. This gives the spider great flexibility - uphill, downhill or on level ground, Cebrennus rechenbergi can move along with ease. The move doubles the spider’s speed, to two meters per second. ![]() Like a gymnast, it propels itself off the ground, followed by a series of rapid flic-flac movements of its legs. A spider in the Moroccan Sahara rolls like a tumbleweed and can do powerful, acrobatic flips through the air.Cebrennus rechenbergi runs for a short time, then stretches out its front legs, spinning into the air and returning to touch the ground with its hind legs. Unlike its relative from Namibia, the golden rolling spider, which is restricted to passively rolling down sand dunes, the flic-flac spider uses its legs to create a rolling motion. On even ground, the spider is twice as fast in rolling mode than when walking, while on uneven surfaces, it is. Credit: Dr Rechenberg The move doubles the spider’s speed, to two metres per second from one metre per second. The spider's most outstanding talent, however, is its ability to move by means of flic-flac jumps. This unique movement makes the flic-flac spider ideally adapted to its surroundings. This leaping arachnid is the only spider known to move by means of flic-flac jump. With its feelers and specialized, elongated bristles, Cebrennus rechenbergi creates a tube-like domicile in the sand, attached by silk threads, which offers protection from the sun and predators. The nocturnal spider Cebrennus rechenbergi lives in the sand desert Erg Chebbi in southeastern Morocco, not far from the Algerian border. This new species was introduced in the scientific journal Zootaxa. It is the only spider that is able to move by means of flic-flac jumps. Peter J?ger, spider expert at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt, has described a new species: Cebrennus rechenbergi. Like a gymnast, it propels itself off the ground, followed by a series of rapid flic-flac movements of its legs.ĭr. The flic-flac spider uses its legs to create a rolling motion. In fact, the flic-flac moves propel the spider across the sand at some 6.5 feet per second (2 meters per second), which is twice as fast as its walking speed.A spider expert has described a new species: Cebrennus rechenbergi. On the other hand, its Tunisian relative moves only by rolling its body down sand dunes. The spider propels itself off the ground and moves its legs in a flic-flac motion to go uphill, downhill or on level ground. "However, the unique mode of locomotion also serves as a criterion to distinguish the species," Jäger said in a statement. rechenbergi from its Tunisian cousin by looking at minute differences in the sex organs of the spiders. "I caught the spider by hand, and I took it to my car - and in the morning, I tried to take a good photograph of the spider," Rechenberg said, adding that he then took the spider with him to Germany and showed it to arachnologist Peter Jäger, who determined that the animal was a new species.Ĭebrennus rechenbergi looks similar to another spider species, Cebrennus villosus, which lives in Tunisia. ![]()
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