The 15 scientists included one of Australia’s best-recognised spider experts, Queensland Museum’s Robert Whyte. He has already fallen for some of the 37 new species of spider. “Baalzebub. That’s a tiny thing and the name means lord of flies,” he says. New species of Brush-footed trapdoor spider at Cooloola. Credit:Robert Whyte “I presume that means it catches flies in its web. It has sprung-tension webs and when something falls in the webs – they are under tension – they just wrap them up.

“They are all miniature. This one was only about 1.4 millimetres long.” Discovering baalzebub, an orb-weaving spider, was a special treat for spider fans, Mr Whyte said. “I was really thinking of it as a tropical spider. Then I got both a male and female at Cooloola," he said. New tiny species of spider called Baalzebub, which means lord of the flies. Credit:Robert Whyte “It was amazing because I don’t think there has been any successful live specimens before anywhere in the world.”

Another favourite was Thomisidae cetratus, a bright green crab spider, which Mr Whyte dubbed "Mr Stripey". “It is intense green and has never been photographed before,” he said. “Their legs allow them to move sideways like a crab. They actually look a little bit like a crab.” The first photograph of the woodfordia crab spider, Thomisidae cetratus. Credit:Robert Whyte Mr Whyte is already discovering at Cooloola new species of spiders in spider “families” (the bigger biological grouping) that are still not officially recognised yet.

“I have a new species in a spider family called Tetragnathidae, which itself isn’t official yet,” he said. “We know the species are there, but their taxonomy is still in the works so to speak.” Mr Whyte said Cooloola’s biodiversity was the reason so many new spiders were being found. Rare new spiders found at Cooloola Coast by Australian spiders. Credit:Robert Whyte. “Spiders are generally a predator, but they also adapt to the prey,” he said.

“They don’t need a specialist food plant like a lot of insects do. They actually get into whatever is available.” Cooloola has a lot insects and arthropods, which spiders love. Arthropods (animals with an internal skeleton and paired legs) make up 80 per cent of living creatures and are the arachnids' natural prey. Queensland's Cooloola Coast where 37 new species of spider have been discovered by scientists. Credit:Doug Bazely “Spiders eat so much food. They are the third-largest meat-consuming animals on the planet as a group, behind humans and whales,” he said.

In Cooloola, the largely untouched vegetation attracts the insects and arthropods, which in turn attract the spiders. “The insects are just incredibly diverse and abundant. Insects are found in all sorts of niches and spiders eat them in all sorts of niches. They adapt,” he said. “You cannot have the diversity [of spiders], without having diversity [of insects and arthropods].” Another new spider discovery. Credit:Robert Whyte Australians had discovered possibly 4000 species but Mr Whyte said there were probably 15,000 to 20,000 species in the country.

“Australia is largely unexplored as far as invertebrates go," he said. "They are by far the majority of species but there are just so many of them in so many places that we are not really getting on top of them.” Lindy Orwin is the coordinator of the Cooloola Coast’s Bio Blitz, which lured 15 experienced scientists and dozens of keen volunteers to shake branches and grasses over August 24 to 26 to discover the unknown species. Part of the Great Cooloola Walk, showing part of the environment where the spiders were found. They investigated seven sites – dunes, wallum, creeks and creek banks - from Noosa, north to Inskip Point.