Cerbalus aravaensis is a huntsman spider found in the southern Arava ValleyofIsrael and Jordan.[1] The species was first described by Gershom Levy of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2007,[1][2] though news agencies later reported it in 2010 as a new discovery (with a slightly different spelling) by a team of biologists from the University of Haifa.[3][4] The spider has a leg span of 14 centimetres (5.5 in), making it the largest member of the family Sparassidae in the Middle East.[1] Males have a body length of 1.85–2.40 centimetres (0.73–0.94 in), while females' body length is 2.20–2.65 centimetres (0.87–1.04 in).[1]
Cerbalus aravaensis lives in sand dunes, and partly stable sands at the edge of salt marshes.[1] It is nocturnal and is most active in the hotter summer months.[3] It constructs underground dens with hinged, trap-door like operculum made of sand and silk, in order to disguise the entrance from predators.[3][1]
The Sands of Samar, the last remaining sand dunes in the southern Arava region of Israel and home to Cerbalus aravaensis, are disappearing. The sands once covered as many as 7 km2 (2.7 sq mi), but now cover less than 3 km2 (1.2 sq mi) due to re-zoning of areas for agriculture and sand quarries. Mining projects on the sands are intended to be renewed in the near future and thus the habitat's future is uncertain.[4] Should the Sands of Samar be destroyed, it is unlikely that Cerbalus aravaensis would survive.[3]
