Welcome to the newest addition to Israel’s fauna, recently discovered among the sand dunes of the Arava in the south.

The Haifa University researchers who identified it say it is the largest spider of its type in the Middle East with a leg span of up to 14 centimetres.

But scientists are worried that mining projects in the area could threaten the habitat of this and other, as yet unknown, creatures.

The spider goes by the name of cerbalus aravensis — which doesn’t mean Cuddles.