Arachnids aren't the most popular group of animals.

蛛形綱動物並不是最受歡迎的動物群體。

Lots of people think they're scary, or just plain old pests.

很多人認為它們很可怕，或者只是普通的害蟲。

But they're fascinating, and important parts of ecosystems all around the world.

但它們非常迷人，是世界各地生態系統的重要組成部分。

Whether they're dancing, hunting, or being a pain in the nose, there have been lots of amazing new arachnid species discovered, or officially described, in just the last five years.

無論它們是在跳舞、狩獵，還是在惹人討厭，在過去的五年裡，我們發現或正式描述了許多令人驚歎的蛛形綱動物新物種。

We'll start with a new species of peacock spider, which are basically the birds of paradise of the arachnid world.

我們將從孔雀蜘蛛的一個新物種開始，它們基本上是蛛形綱動物世界中的天堂鳥。

This little guy, just a few millimeters long, is called Maratus bubo, since his abdomen kinda happens to look like a horned owl.

這個只有幾毫米長的小傢伙被稱為 "Maratus bubo"，因為它的腹部看起來有點像有角的貓頭鷹。

He's one of seven new peacock spiders officially announced in May 2016, and was discovered in 2015 by Jürgen Otto and David Knowles, who were out spider hunting in southwest Australia.

它是 2016 年 5 月正式公佈的七種新孔雀蜘蛛之一，是于爾根-奧托（Jürgen Otto）和大衛-諾爾斯（David Knowles）於 2015 年在澳洲西南部捕獵蜘蛛時發現的。

These brightly colored males strut their stuff to find a mate, and their dances are pretty impressive.

這些色彩鮮豔的雄鳥大搖大擺地尋找配偶，它們的舞蹈令人印象深刻。

Lifting two middle legs to frame his bright abdomen, he shimmies from side to side and jiggles his booty, eyes locked on his audience of one.

他抬起兩條中腿，襯托出他光潔的腹部，左右晃動，扭動臀部，眼睛緊盯著他的觀眾。

This is supposed to show off how healthy he is, since he's hoping to pass on his genes to the next generation of spiders.

這應該是為了炫耀它有多麼健康，因為它希望把自己的基因傳給下一代蜘蛛。

Otto and his colleague David Hill have helped discover and categorize dozens of peacock spiders, and more movers and shakers could be on the way soon.

奧托和他的同事戴維-希爾（David Hill）已經幫助發現了幾十種孔雀蜘蛛，並對它們進行了分類，不久之後可能還會有更多的孔雀蜘蛛出現。

Jürgen Otto found this other new species in 2015, a jumping spider that was just sitting on his luggage as he unpacked from a camping trip.

于爾根-奧托（Jürgen Otto）在 2015 年發現了另一個新物種，這是一隻跳蛛，他在一次野營旅行結束後打開行李時發現了它。

This critter doesn't have the mad dancing flair of the peacock spiders.

這種小動物沒有孔雀蜘蛛的瘋狂舞蹈天賦。

Instead, it takes a more cautious approach to wooing the ladies, almost like playing peekaboo.

相反，它採取了一種更加謹慎的方式來向女士們求愛，幾乎就像在玩躲貓貓。

The males have large, hairy paddles on two of their middle legs, which are important in finding a mate.

雄鳥的兩條中腿上有大而多毛的槳葉，這對尋找配偶很重要。

See, he'll hide out just out of his potential mate's view, like, on the other side of a leaf.

你看，它會躲在潛在配偶的視線之外，就像躲在樹葉的另一面。

Then he'll stick out one of these paddles and wave.

然後，他會伸出其中一隻槳，揮揮手。

Now, female spiders of lots of species generally attack, kill, or even eat the males.

現在，很多種類的雌性蜘蛛通常會攻擊、殺死甚至吃掉雄性蜘蛛。

And Otto noticed that most of the females were lunging at the male spiders, waving leg paddles.

奧托注意到，大多數雌蜘蛛都向雄蜘蛛撲去，揮舞著腿槳。

So, at first, Otto thought the male spider was trying to tire the female into submission.

所以，一開始，奧托以為雄蜘蛛是想讓雌蜘蛛累得屈服。

But eventually, the males just gave up and scurried away.

但最終，雄鳥還是放棄了，一溜煙跑了。

More research suggested it might have to do with finding out the female's personality, or even whether she's mated before.

更多的研究表明，這可能與瞭解雌性動物的性格有關，甚至與它以前是否交配過有關。

Certain spider species will only mate once, so if she's aggressive, it might mean she can't mate anymore.

某些種類的蜘蛛只能交配一次，所以如果它具有攻擊性，可能意味著它不能再交配了。

But if she sits still and tolerates his coy waving long enough, he'll consider it an invitation to make a more personal introduction.

但如果她坐著不動，忍受他靦腆地揮手足夠長的時間，他就會認為這是在邀請她做更私人的介紹。

This next spider may not have fancy decorations, but it's got its own signature move – the flick-flack, or back handspring.

下一隻蜘蛛可能沒有華麗的裝飾，但它有自己的招牌動作--"彈跳"，也就是後手翻。

It seems to move like a normal spider at first, but when it's startled, it turns into a leggy tumbleweed and flings itself away from danger, or straight at whatever disturbed it.

一開始，它似乎像普通蜘蛛一樣移動，但當它受到驚嚇時，就會變成一隻腿腳靈活的風滾草，然後撲向遠離危險的地方，或者直接撲向驚擾它的東西。

You know, to act all macho and intimidating.

你知道，要表現出男子氣概和威懾力。

It can flip forwards or backwards, but usually, the spider pushes off of its front legs and front handsprings across the sand, or even up slopes.

它可以向前或向後翻轉，但通常情況下，蜘蛛會用前肢推開沙地，然後前手翻，甚至翻上斜坡。

It's the only spider known to move this way, and it could even keep up with a human jogger.

它是目前所知唯一能以這種方式移動的蜘蛛，甚至能跟上人類慢跑的速度。

But such a high-energy move needs to be saved for emergency situations, or this spider would be exhausted.

但這樣的高能量動作需要留到緊急情況下使用，否則這隻蜘蛛就會精疲力竭。

The flick-flack spider was discovered in 2009 by Ingo Rechenberg, a bionics professor from

彈塗蜘蛛是 2009 年由英國倫敦大學的仿生學教授英戈-雷亨伯格（Ingo Rechenberg）發現的。

Berlin who was visiting the Urg-Shebi Desert in Morocco.

柏林，當時他正在摩洛哥的烏爾格-舍比沙漠遊覽。

Rechenberg was so impressed by the spider's tumbling that he built some rolling robots that mimic its movement, especially to help robots move across sand – a notoriously challenging terrain.

雷申伯格對蜘蛛的翻滾能力印象深刻，於是他模仿蜘蛛的動作製造了一些滾動機器人，特別是幫助機器人在沙地上移動--沙地是出了名的高難度地形。

He also showed the spider to arachnologist Peter Yeager from the Zankenberg Research

他還向贊肯伯格研究中心的蛛形綱動物學家彼得-耶格爾展示了這隻蜘蛛。

Institute in Frankfurt, who officially described the new species in 2014 and named it after its discoverer.

他於 2014 年正式描述了這一新物種，並以發現者的名字為其命名。

How many eyes do spiders have?

蜘蛛有幾隻眼睛？

You might be thinking eight, but not always.

你可能會想到 8，但並不總是這樣。

This new species of huntsman spider, discovered by Peter Yeager in a cave in Laos, has zero.

彼得-耶格爾（Peter Yeager）在寮國的一個洞穴中發現的這一獵人蜘蛛新物種，其數量為零。

If you spend your life in the pitch black, it's better to use energy for other senses, like smell or touch, because vision isn't going to help you get around.

如果你的一生都在漆黑中度過，那麼最好把精力用在其他感官上，比如嗅覺或觸覺，因為視覺並不能幫助你四處走動。

So it's not unusual for animals living deep underground, underwater, or in caves to lose their eyesight over evolutionary time.

是以，生活在地下深處、水下或洞穴中的動物在進化過程中失去視力並不罕見。

But this spider's not just blind.

但這隻蜘蛛不僅僅是瞎子。

It's completely eyeless.

它完全沒有眼睛。

No lenses, no light-detecting pigments, just a smooth, featureless face above those menacing fangs.

沒有鏡片，沒有感光色素，只有一張光滑、毫無特徵的臉，上面是那對猙獰的獠牙。

Yeager found other new huntsman spider species in the Laos caves, but none of them had completely gotten rid of their eyes.

耶格爾在寮國洞穴中發現了其他新的狩獵者蜘蛛物種，但它們都沒有完全去掉眼睛。

That being said, some of the species' eyes were more developed than others, ranging from a complete-looking set of eight to two tiny remnants that probably didn't do much.

儘管如此，有些物種的眼睛比其他物種更發達，從看起來完整的八隻眼睛到兩隻可能不起什麼作用的小殘眼不等。

We've got a lot to learn before we understand why these spiders live in such similar environments, but apparently see the world so differently.

在理解為什麼這些蜘蛛生活在如此相似的環境中，卻對世界有著如此不同的看法之前，我們還有很多東西要學。

Lots of people have heard Spider-Man's origin story, over and over again thanks to the reboots.

很多人都聽過蜘蛛俠的起源故事，這要歸功於重啟版的蜘蛛俠。

But the origin of spiders is much more mysterious to scientists.

但對科學家來說，蜘蛛的起源要神祕得多。

However, new research published in March 2016 on a proto-spider fossil, or almost-spider, from France tells us more of this ancient story.

然而，2016 年 3 月發表的一項關於法國的原蜘蛛化石（或幾乎是蜘蛛）的新研究告訴了我們這個古老故事的更多資訊。

In fact, they even named this proto-spider after a Greek myth.

事實上，他們甚至用希臘神話為這種原蜘蛛命名。

Arachne, who was turned into a spider by the goddess Athena for her pride, and her father Idma.

阿拉克涅因驕傲而被雅典娜女神變成蜘蛛，她的父親是伊德瑪。

The 305-million-year-old fossil is stunningly well-preserved.

這塊 3.05 億年前的化石保存完好，令人驚歎。

And the team of researchers, headed by Russell Garwood from the University of Manchester, used high-res scanning techniques to create a detailed virtual fossil.

以曼徹斯特大學的羅素-加伍德為首的研究小組利用高清掃描技術製作了一個詳細的虛擬化石。

That way, they could study how it compares to modern spiders.

這樣，他們就可以研究它與現代蜘蛛的比較。

It does look a lot like a spider, which suggests this body plan is pretty ancient.

它看起來確實很像蜘蛛，這表明這種身體結構相當古老。

But it doesn't have spinnerets, those silk-spinning organs that all modern spiders have.

但它沒有噴絲器，即所有現代蜘蛛都有的紡絲器官。

The researchers think this proto-spider did have a simple way to make silk.

研究人員認為，這種原蜘蛛確實有一種簡單的制絲方法。

But without spinnerets, it wouldn't have had enough control to make intricate webs.

但是如果沒有噴絲器，它就沒有足夠的控制能力來編織複雜的網。

The silk would just kind of… spurt out.

絲綢就這樣......噴湧而出。

So they think the fossil is an ancient cousin, not a direct ancestor of the modern spider.

是以，他們認為這塊化石是古代蜘蛛的表親，而不是現代蜘蛛的直系祖先。

And spinnerets must have appeared in a later, separate part of the spider's history.

而噴絲板一定是在蜘蛛歷史的後期單獨出現的。

In the forests around the southwest Oregon mountains, there lives a creature known as

在俄勒岡州西南部山區的森林裡，生活著一種被稱為

Cryptomaster Behemoth.

加密巨獸

It might sound like something out of a conspiracy theory, but this little monster is real.

這聽起來像是陰謀論，但這個小怪物是真實存在的。

But it's not a spider.

但它不是蜘蛛。

It's a harvestman, which some people call Daddy Longlegs.

這是一種收割機，有人叫它 "長腿老爹"。

In 1969, the Cryptomaster Leviathan was discovered, and named for its secretive behavior and large body size compared to other Daddy Longlegs.

1969 年，人們發現了 "長腿老爹"（Cryptomaster Leviathan），因其行為隱祕、體型比其他 "長腿老爹 "大而得名。

For decades, it was thought to be one-of-a-kind in the genus, until January this year.

幾十年來，人們一直認為它是該屬中獨一無二的，直到今年 1 月。

A team from San Diego University collected 77 Cryptomaster Daddy Longlegs from 14 different regions of southern Oregon.

聖地亞哥大學的一個研究小組從俄勒岡州南部的 14 個不同地區採集了 77 只長腿隱翅蟲。

And they weren't all similar.

而且它們並不都是相似的。

Careful measurements of body parts, mapping their habitats, and genetic analyses all confirmed that the Cryptomaster genus was really two species, not just one.

對身體部位的仔細測量、對棲息地的測繪以及基因分析都證實，隱翅蟲屬其實是兩個物種，而不僅僅是一個。

So they had to pick a name for this sister species, and what's worthy enough to match the Biblical Leviathan?

是以，他們必須為這個姊妹物種取一個名字，什麼名字才足以與《聖經》中的利維坦相匹配呢？

Well, a behemoth, of course.

當然，是個龐然大物。

Mites are one of the smallest and most diverse groups of arachnids, including the things that live on your face, or the dust mites in your bed.

蟎蟲是體型最小、種類最多的蛛形綱動物之一，包括生活在你臉上的蟎蟲或床上的塵蟎。

This cool, worm-like mite species, called the Buckeye dragon mite, was discovered by

這種酷似蠕蟲的蟎蟲物種被稱為巴克基龍蟎，是由以下研究人員發現的

Samuel Bolton in the exotic soil of the Ohio State University campus and described in 2014.

塞繆爾-博爾頓（Samuel Bolton）在俄亥俄州立大學校園的異國土壤中，並於 2014 年進行了描述。

It might not look like much at first, but electron microscopy reveals a whole new beast.

初看起來，它可能並不起眼，但電子顯微鏡卻揭示了一個全新的怪獸。

It's a microbivore, or something that feeds on single-celled organisms like yeast and bacteria, but only the juices inside.

它是一種微食肉動物，或以酵母和細菌等單細胞生物為食，但只吃裡面的汁液。

Bolton's team studied the mite's intricate mouthparts and think its feeding habits probably resemble something between a hamster and a trash compactor.

博爾頓的研究小組研究了這種蟎蟲複雜的口器，認為它的進食習慣可能介於倉鼠和垃圾壓縮機之間。

Here's their hypothesis.

這就是他們的假設。

As the mite travels through the soil, special cup-shaped hairs near its mouth attract microbes through intermolecular forces.

當蟎蟲在土壤中穿行時，它嘴邊特殊的杯狀絨毛會通過分子間的作用力吸引微生物。

The microbes get stored in a little pouch above its mouth, and when the time is right, the researchers think a pincer stabs into the pouch, crushing the cells until they burst and release all those delicious juices.

研究人員認為，當時機成熟時，一隻鉗子會刺入小袋，擠壓細胞，直到它們破裂，釋放出所有美味的汁液。

His team hasn't observed the Buckeye dragon mite feeding to test their theory, but they think this technique would extract lots of nutritious microbial goop, great for living in poor-quality soil where food is hard to come by.

他的團隊還沒有觀察到巴克基龍蟎進食來驗證他們的理論，但他們認為這種技術可以提取大量營養豐富的微生物粘液，非常適合生活在食物難以獲得的劣質土壤中。

To discover a new arachnid, sometimes you just need to follow your nose, not that researcher

要發現一種新的蛛形綱動物，有時你只需要跟著你的鼻子走，而不是那個研究員

Tony Goldberg had much of a choice.

託尼-戈德堡別無選擇。

After a research trip to Kibale, Uganda in 2012, he returned to his University of Wisconsin

2012 年，他在烏干達基巴萊進行了一次研究旅行後，回到了威斯康星大學。

Madison lab and felt a sharp pain of his right nostril.

麥迪遜在實驗室裡感到右鼻孔一陣劇痛。

And he discovered a tick.

他發現了一隻蝨子。

These bloodsuckers are well-known for latching onto skin, but the nose thing isn't well understood.

這些吸血蟲以吸附皮膚而聞名，但對鼻子的瞭解並不多。

And this tick's DNA wasn't a match for any known species, so it could be a new one.

而且這種蜱蟲的 DNA 與任何已知物種都不匹配，是以它可能是一種新物種。

To know for sure, the team needs to do some more research, but the tick did inspire a different kind of study.

要確定這一點，研究小組還需要做更多的研究，但蜱蟲確實激發了一項不同的研究。

Goldberg researches diseases that are transmitted between humans and animals.

戈德伯格研究人與動物之間傳播的疾病。

And he wanted to study whether chimpanzees in Kibale had those nose ticks, especially because ticks can spread some pretty nasty diseases.

他想研究基巴萊黑猩猩是否有鼻蜱，特別是因為鼻蜱可以傳播一些非常可怕的疾病。

He called up some colleagues who had hundreds of photos of young chimp faces for their own research on facial development, and at least 20% of them had nostril stowaways.

他給一些同事打了電話，他們有數百張黑猩猩幼臉的照片，用於自己的面部發育研究，其中至少有 20% 的黑猩猩有偷藏鼻孔的現象。

It seems really unlikely that so many ticks would randomly get lost and end up in their noses, so it could be a survival strategy to avoid being caught by social grooming.

看來，這麼多蝨子真的不太可能隨機丟失並最終進入它們的鼻子，所以這可能是一種生存策略，以避免被社會梳理抓住。

Brazil is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, and can be a great place to find new species.

巴西是地球上生物多樣性最豐富的地方之一，也是發現新物種的好地方。

So two researchers from Rio de Janeiro and Copenhagen thought that the number of Brazilian whip spiders was suspiciously low compared to nearby countries.

是以，里約熱內盧和哥本哈根的兩位研究人員認為，與附近國家相比，巴西鞭蛛的數量少得可疑。

And they wanted to test if this was really true, or just a gap in the research.

他們想測試這是否是真的，或者只是研究中的一個空白。

Whip spiders are not actually spiders, despite their name and look.

鞭蛛其實並不是蜘蛛，儘管它們的名字和外觀都與蜘蛛不同。

They don't have silk or venom glands like most spiders, and they use spiny-claw-like pedipalps to catch insect and small vertebrate prey.

它們不像大多數蜘蛛那樣有絲或毒腺，而是用棘爪狀的足爪捕捉昆蟲和小型脊椎動物獵物。

The whips are modified front legs that work as touch and chemical sensors, which help them navigate the caves and forest floors where they live.

鞭子是經過改裝的前腿，可以作為觸覺和化學傳感器，幫助它們在洞穴和森林地面上導航。

The researchers scoured Brazilian museum collections for whip spiders from the Amazon, focusing on one genus called Carinus.

研究人員搜索了巴西博物館收藏的亞馬遜鞭蛛，重點研究了一種名為 Carinus 的屬。

Taking painstaking measurements of specimens' legs, eyes, and genitals, they uncovered eight new whip spiders native to Brazil, almost doubling the known species in the Carinus genus as of February 2016.

通過對標本的腿、眼睛和生殖器進行艱苦的測量，他們發現了八種原產於巴西的新鞭蛛，截至 2016 年 2 月，這幾乎使 Carinus 屬的已知物種增加了一倍。

Work like this helps understand the area's full biodiversity while it's still there, since these whip spiders' habitats are threatened by dam building, deforestation, and mining.

由於這些鞭蛛的棲息地正受到大壩建設、森林砍伐和採礦的威脅，是以類似的工作有助於瞭解該地區完整的生物多樣性。

So even though they get a bad rap sometimes, all these new arachnid species have their own awesome stories and niche on Earth.

是以，儘管它們有時會被說得很壞，但所有這些新的蛛形綱物種都有自己了不起的故事和在地球上的地位。

Thanks to Jürgen Otto, Ingo Rechenberg, Peter Jaeger, Russell Garwood, James Starrett, Samuel

感謝 Jürgen Otto、Ingo Rechenberg、Peter Jaeger、Russell Garwood、James Starrett、Samuel

Bolton, Tony Goldberg, and Gustavo Silva de Miranda for their help with this episode.

博爾頓、託尼-戈德堡和古斯塔沃-席爾瓦-德米蘭達為本集提供了幫助。

I apologize if I said your name wrong.

如果我說錯了你的名字，我向你道歉。

And thanks to all of our patrons on Patreon who make this show possible.

感謝 Patreon 上的所有贊助者，是他們讓這個節目成為可能。

If you want to help us keep making videos like this, just go to patreon.comslashscishow.

如果你想幫助我們繼續製作這樣的視頻，只需登錄 patreon.comslashscishow。

And don't forget to go to youtube.comslashscishow and subscribe!

別忘了去 youtube.comslashscishow 訂閱！