An exploration of global patterns of trade in arachnids reveals 1,264 species from 66 families

Bob Yirka is a writer for Phys.org.

There is a large and active trade in arachnids on the internet, according to a small team of researchers. In their paper published in the journal Communications Biology, the group describes their study of arachnid trade via the internet and possible repercussions of so many of the creatures being traded across the world.

As the researchers note, wildlife trade has been shown to be a major driver of loss of biodiversity, as creatures are captured and traded, their numbers in the wild diminish. Some creatures that are traded get a lot of attention, while others are ignored by both the press and social media. The researchers looked to gain a better perspective on the global trade of arachnids.

To learn more about the trade of arachnids, the researchers went to online listings. They found over a thousand species for sale or trade. They think more are for sale than they found because they didn't track sales on social media sites. The majority of the species they found for sale were not recognized as being traded by any governing or regulatory body, so all such sales were perfectly legal. They found that sellers who have spiders with more colorful features were more likely to get a higher reward. Most of the specimen they saw belonged to species that are known to have long lifespans, with another factor that can put a species at risk.

The researchers think that the huge number of sales is a threat to the survival of many species, particularly those that are at risk for other reasons. The note states that most of the specimens they found online came from the wild, which suggests that there is pressure on those that are left behind. A lot of the information used to describe the specimen was incorrect. More work needs to be done to gauge the impact that a huge trade market is having on arachnids.

More information: Benjamin M. Marshall et al, Searching the web builds fuller picture of arachnid trade, Communications Biology (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03374-0 Journal information: Communications Biology

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