A group of Thomasian researchers working with partners in Romblon State University and Theraposid Research Team in Germany has discovered a new species of tarantula. The new species, named Selenobrachys ustromsupasius (a portmanteau of UST, Romblon State University, Mindanao State University Iligan Institute of Technology, University of the Philippines Diliman, and Philippine Arachnological Society, Inc.), was reported in the article “Taxonomic revalidation of Selenobrachys Schmidt, 1999 and Chilocosmia Schmidt & von Wirth, 1992 based on morphological and molecular analyses (Araneae, Theraphosidae), with the description of a new species from Romblon Island, Philippines,” published in ZooKeys on March 31, 2025.
The discovery of the new species was a result of using “an integrative approach of morphological, biogeographic, and molecular biology techniques to describe a tarantula species.” The technique likewise succeeded in resolving “taxonomic issues on the genera Selenobrachys and Chilocosmia, which were synonymized under the genus Orphnaecus.
With the discovery, the group continues its work on discovering bioactive components that may have therapeutic potential from spider venom. The research program is funded by the Department of Science and Technology and has been named GAGAMBA – Gamot mule sa Gagamba at Mananaliksik ng Bayan.
Authoring the paper were Thomasian researchers Darrell C. Acuña, Maria Mikaela U. Dumbrique, Lorenz Rheum P. Ragasa, Charles Nylxon C. Noriega, Assoc. Prof. Myla R. Santiago-Bautista, PhD, Asst. Prof. Leonardo A. Guevarra, Jr., MSc, and Asst. Prof. Maricel C. Rañido, PhD. They were joined by Anna Beatriz R. Mayor, Gregorio Antonio Florendo Jr., and Mary Jane A. Fadri of Romblon State University, and Volker von Wirth of Theraphosid Research Team – Eitting, Germany.
Santiago-Bautista, Guevarra, and Rañido are academic staff of the Department of Biochemistry of the Faculty of Pharmacy. They are academic researchers at the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences.
