Free Republic

The researchers isolated two genes involved with leg development. Under a microscope, they were able to see the two genes were activated in the legs while the spider was still an embryo. Next, using RNA interference, they were able to block the activation of the two genes in several samples. The spiders grew up with short legs, and the short legs became pedipalps, limbs typically used for handling food. The researchers also identified and disabled another gene linked to leg development, which led to spiders with short legs that did not become pedipalps but who did lose their tarsomeres—joints that...

Known as the Known as the bunny harvestman, the peculiar-looking spider was photographed and filmed by natural scientist Andreas Kay during a recent trip to the depths of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador. At first glance, it's easy to dismiss the arachnid - which features a dog-like snout and ears - as a hoax, however it turns out that this is in fact a genuine species and yes - it does actually look like that., the peculiar-looking spider was photographed and filmed by natural scientist Andreas Kay during a recent trip to the depths of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador....