Feb 27, 2008

Hitching a Ride

Just what the world needed: a new species of tick spider (Ricinoides sp.) was found during a 2006 expedition to Ghana's Atewa Range Forest Reserve.

Thankfully, this species of tick spider (the name makes me twitch and need to scratch) is rare. And though he may be looking at the camera and holding his leg up to hitch a ride (I know what you're up to, tick spider), I can rest easy knowing that Ghana is a long, long way from me.

Thanks for the photo, Ida.

Photo source: Piotr Naskrecki via LiveScience.com via Animal Picture Archives

3 comments:

Jack Ruttan said...

That's a very cool, serious, monochrome spider. Kind of the Lexus of spiders, really.

Anonymous said...

Is it a tick, or is it a spider?

Anonymous said...

It's not a tick, and it's not a spider. It's a spider tick, or a tick spider, depending on whom you ask. It was driving me crazy; had to find an article. That's what being a librarian does to you. Here's one on the find. Spider tick, spider tick . . . (warning: YouTubed Ramones here!)