Blind Spider Discovery Halts Development Of Texas Highway
What has eight legs, is no bigger than a dime, and can stop a $15-million-dollar highway construction project? Why of course, it’s a
Braken Bat Cave Meshweaver! It seems the San Antonio, Texas underpass project was halted when the rare spider was discovered after rain exposed a 6-foot-deep natural hole in a highway median at Texas 151 and Loop 1604. The
endangered arachnid, which had not been seen in more than 30 years, gave biologists a chance to rejoice for the chance discovery. While the find is a significant one for science, area commuters will likely not be pleased as the discovery has halted the construction project indefinitely–in the battle of highway vs. nature, nature wins.
The Zara Environmental biologist who found the tiny critter was working as a consultant for the Texas Department of Transportation on the road project. Construction has been under way since April, but will now cease after a taxonomist confirmed late last week that the spider was in fact the endangered Meshweaver, named for the type of web it weaves. It was added to the Federal endangered species list in 2000, along with eight other “karst invertebrates” found only in Bexar County. Because the region where the underpass project was ongoing is steeped with natural resources, such as songbirds and cave animals, biologists were on scene to observe and preserve, said Stirling J. Robertson, biology team leader for the Texas DOT’s environmental affairs division...
more
No comments:
Post a Comment