New Porongurup trapdoor spider named after Albany freelance conservationist

A species of trapdoor spider, teyl loxleyae, has been named after local Albany freelance conservationist Loxley Fedec in recognition of her efforts in identifying and researching the eight-legged species. The spider was established as a new species in the December 2023 taxonomy paper “A revision of the open-holed trapdoor spiders of the Teyl damsonoides-group (Mygalomorphae: Anamidae: Teylinae) from south-western Australia”. Her love of spiders started from a young age, once attempting to smuggle a spider home before she was “busted” by her mother, and participating in a science talent quest to discover the mating behaviour of garden spiders. “I just happen to like spiders,” Ms Fedec said. “All my life I have been interested in wildlife flora and fauna generally as have a lot of other people, but probably only in the last 10 to 20 years as I’ve reduced my workload and begin to ease into retirement, and not working overtime, have I had more opportunity to pursue my own interests.” Along with her grandson, Ms Fedec rescued a trapdoor spider from her burrow that was located in an area that was to undergo a prescribed burn the next day. Ms Fedec knew she had found something special when she noted the red legs of the eight-legged critter. “We pulled the trapdoor spider out of her burrow, and I immediately knew she was something different,” she said. “It was fairly black and shiny, but I think it was the red legs that really stood out, so I knew it was something different. “It was a bit weird to find a new genera.” She managed to send a photo to Mark Harvey, a scientist and biologist at the Western Australian Museum, who said they had funding to send the spider to Queensland for it to be included in the taxonomy paper being written. “After we had pulled the female out, we were walking back and we saw a spider just sitting on a leaf litter, and we collected that one but it looked nothing like the female,” Ms Fedec said. “But it turned out in due course that in fact it was the male of the same species which was lucky.” Ms Fedec said the species is likely to be listed as endangered, and it is not known if the genera is a short-range endemic meaning the dispersal of the population in an area could be limited. “That particular species might be short-range endemic but the genera is quite well widespread and more out into the Wheatbelt,” she said. “But the Wheatbelt is very impacted for clearing and fragmented landscapes so that any species that still exists out there today are all going to be threatened because they’ve got nowhere to live.”