Two new genera and four new species of jumping spiders, hitherto unknown to science, were discovered in the south of Misiones province by researchers from Conicet, INTA and a private foundation, who baptized them “Patoruzito” for their resemblance to the cartoon character, the scientists reported.
Researchers Gonzalo Rubio (Conicet), Eric Stolar (INTA) and Julián Baigorria (Azara Foundation) gathered at the Salticide Research Group of Argentina (GISA) three new species of spiders studied since last year that inhabit the ecoregion of “fields and weeds” located in Corrientes and south of Misiones.
These new four species are added to them, of two new genera for science and one of these species, the researchers baptized it “Patoruzito”, due to its similarity with the cartoon character
This species also inhabit the fieldsis very particular for its little size and coloration within their group and only was found in a very specific environment within the grassland.
“It seemed to us an excellent opportunity to honor Patoruzito, a character, along with his adult version, Patoruzú, who marked several generations and is undoubtedly part of our essence as Argentines. Patoruzito revalues many customs, legends and idioms of our gauchos and the native tribes of southern South America, which today seem to be falling into oblivion, like the grasslands in which this new species lives,” said Baigorria, an associate researcher at the Azara Foundation and adviser to the province of Misiones on issues related to conservation and biodiversity.
The GISA group focused on describing the species in this area of the country to “revalue this megadiverse ecosystem, always forgotten, which has the least representation in the system of protected areas (both public and private) with less than 0.3% of its surface under some figure of protection,” the group said.
This type of homage at the time of naming the species already has a history even within the same family, the Akela and Bagheera genera, they mention characters from Kipling’s “Jungle Book”, even one of the species is called Bagheera kiplingi in honor to the author.
