Spiders construct homes for endangered pygmy lizards

Not Exactly Rocket Science
By Ed Yong
Jul 18, 2009 9:00 PMNov 5, 2019 12:13 AM

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We think of spiders as fearsome hunters, spinners of webs and treacherous mates, but construction workers? Yes, that too. Some groups of spiders - trapdoor and wolf spiders - dig tunnels that they use to ambush passing insects. But these tunnels can also provide shelter and accommodation for other animals, including one of the rarest of Australia's lizards - the pygmy blue-tongue lizard. It seems that the lizard's survival depends entirely on the spiders.

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