The Mashpi-Tayra Reserve continues to establish itself as one of Ecuador’s leading sites for the discovery of new species. Sidymella ayahuma, a crab spider newly described from the reserve’s cloud forests in northwestern Ecuador, is the 26th find to be documented from this biodiversity hotspot. The discovery underscores Mashpi Lodge’s growing reputation as a living laboratory, where ongoing scientific research continues to reveal species found nowhere else on Earth.

The new species belongs to the Thomisidae family, commonly known as crab spiders or “fork-tailed” crab spiders. These tiny, cryptically colored predators are renowned for their remarkable camouflage and their unique hunting strategy of ambushing prey rather than spinning webs. Researchers identified the species through close study of its body shape and distinctive features, including stout, cone-like projections on its abdomen.

“The discovery of Sidymella ayahuma demonstrates that unknown species still exist, even in places that have been studied for many years,” said David Díaz-Guevara. “It highlights the extraordinary biological richness of Ecuador’s Chocó region and the need to continue conducting biodiversity inventories and taxonomic research.”

The spider’s name honors Ayahuma, a spirit figure from Andean tradition closely tied to Inti Raymi, the Indigenous celebration marking the winter solstice — a fitting tribute to a creature found deep within one of Ecuador’s most biodiverse landscapes.

The specimens were collected by students in a Mashpi Lodge-organized Arachnology course; the type specimen was collected in 2023 by researcher Yarina Tapuy-Avilés. The research was led by Ecuadorian arachnologist David R. Díaz-Guevara of Ecuador’s National Institute of Biodiversity (INABIO), in collaboration with Miguel Machado of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

The find was published in the journal Zootaxa.