Tags: Arachnid.
The Nihoa trapdoor spider or Nihoa mahina is a trapdoor spider endemic to Nihoa Hawaii. These spiders are hunters that dig a hole near rocks cover it with a concealed trapdoor. These burrows are excavated completely with the spider’s jaw. When prey approaches or falls in the spider pounces on it. Then its abnormally large pedipalps are used to take food into the mouth.Prior to the 1980s trapdoor spiders were not thought to exist in Hawaii.
