Smeagol was found in the caves of Brazil! This Smeagol, however, is not the widely loved utterer of 'Precious!" in Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. Rather, this is a new species of spider discovered by scientists recently in the caves of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The 'landumoema smeagol' brought the 'Lord of the Rings'' Smeagol, or Gollum when he switches to his manic Precious-loving alter ego, to mind because of its yellow colour, long thin legs and both scavenging and solitary tendencies.
The authors of the study explained the name in this way: "The specific epithet refers to the hobbit named Smeagol, created by J.R.R. Tolkien, being the original name of Gollum - the dweller of the caves located below the 'Misty Mountains' of 'Middle-earth' of the 'Lord of the Rings' book."
Interestingly, actual 'Middle-earth' giant spider Shelob can be found within the pages of J.R.R. Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings'. The final book, The Two Towers, brings Shelob to life in the Cirith Ungol pass that leads into the black and treacherous plains of Mordor.
This species of troglobitic harvestman spider is said to be different from two other species of landumoema spiders.Based on the researchers' description of the 'landumoema smeagol': "The adults show solitary habits; on one occasion, one individual was feeding in litter, apparently scavenging carcasses of invertebrates.
Further study of the 'landumoema smeagol' must be accelerated, however, as the spiders' 4.6 square km home is in danger of disappearing due to deforestation activities. Expert Ricardo Pinto-da-Rocha, who discovered one of the earlier species of landumoema spiders in 1996, has made urgent appeals on the 'landumoema smeagol' spiders' behalf.
According to the scientists: "Projects for the installation of small hydroelectric dams and limestone extraction for cement production represent potential impacts on the immediate environment. Moreover, the extent of occurrence area of the species allied to the deforestation in the cave surroundings must place this species in a threatened category considering the IUCN criteria."
Findings related to the 'landumoema smeagol' have been published in the journal Zookeys.
