A spider named for Stephen Colbert just gave science the first DNA map of her entire family

Beneath California's coastal dunes, a tiny trapdoor spider waits behind a camouflaged silk door for passing prey. She is Aptostichus stephencolberti, named for comedian Stephen Colbert, and a team led by the University of California, Davis has now read her full genetic code for the first time — about 3.63 billion DNA letters, most of it repeated sequences, holding 14,067 genes. Published in the Journal of Heredity, it is the first reference genome for her whole spider family, Euctenizidae. Because these spiders barely wander from home, comparing DNA across separate dunes could reveal distinct populations worth protecting as development and rising seas squeeze their narrow strip of coast.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: tech innovation