The Australian trapdoor spider belongs to a genus of trapdoor spider that is only otherwise find in South Africa . So how did they get from Africa to the solid ground down under trillion of years ago ? Researchers from the University of Adelaide say it guarantee an epic voyage across the Indian Ocean on a " wad " of dirt .
Even the scientist behind this theory admit It sound pretty disturbed . This species of wanderer ( Moggridgea rainbowi ) is around the size of a coin at approximately3.5 centimeters ( 1.4 inches),can only be found on Kangaroo Island off the south Australian coast , and scarce strike more than a few meters its whole life .
However , as described in their late study in the journalPLOS One , this looks like one of the only practicable possibility .
This connection between Australia ’s Kangaroo Island wanderer and South African spider was mold through equivalence of DNA sequence from six molecular marking ( factor ) . This sequence showed that the African and Australia trapdoor spiders belong to the same genus , but indicates a variance between 2 and 16 million years ago , with separate populations on Kangaroo Island deviate between 1 and 6 million years ago – too late to be explicate by the separation of continents , but too ahead of time for any human involvement .
“ Conventional wisdom had advise the spiders became split from their South African relations with the separation of Africa from Gondwana around 95 million age ago , ” Sophie Harrison , a University of Adelaide PhD candidate , said in astatement . “But our research show that the divergence ofM rainbowifrom African Moggridgea trapdoor spider occurred sometime between two and 16 million years ago , well after the Africa - Gondwana separation . Likewise , the timing of divergence rule out the other alternate hypothesis for the spider ' comer in Australia – that of being enrapture with humans , who arrived in Australia much afterward . ”
The possibility is that the spiders , unbeknownst to them , were transported onboard a portion of land and flora washed out to sea .
“ The tunnel they live in are quite stable and they would have been quite secure in their silk - line tube with their trapdoors closed – it was in all likelihood quite a safe room to travel , ” added Harrison .
If true , these wanderer might not be the only beast that floated across the seas to another continent . Even more unbelievable , scientists have antecedently suggested thatmonkeys from Africa voyaged across the Atlanticto South America by “ raft ” on drift islands some 34 to 37 million old age ago .
