The Denver Museum of Nature and Science confirmed the discovery of the Larca boulderica, a new species of cave pseudoscorpion found near Boulder’s Flatirons.

David Steinmann, research associate with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science’s Zoology Department, discovered the pseudoscorpion in 2008 while looking for invertebrates in a small cave with his wife and son in Boulder Open Space.

“As soon as we found this pseudoscorpion in Mallory Cave, I suspected it was a new species because of its isolated habitat and unusual environment,” said Steinmann. The creature also had unusual habits Steinmann had never seen before.

“When I would try and capture one, sometimes they would roll into a little ball and tumble down the hill to escape,” Steinmann said.

Steinmann sent the specimen to Mark Harvey, a pseudoscorpion expert located at the Western Australian Museum, and the specimen sat in an Australian laboratory for nearly 15 years before recently being confirmed as a new discovery.

The process of establishing that a species has never before been seen is a “combination on how they look under a microscope, comparing it to other similar specimens, and more recently, DNA analysis.” Steinmann said.

Steinmann then named the species Larca boulderica after the city in which it was discovered. It is now the sixth North American cave-adapted species of Larca genus.

“Steinmann’s discovery of new species of pseudoscorpions from Colorado’s cave systems demonstrates how much we still have to discover about this planet’s biodiversity,” said Paula Cushing, senior curator of invertebrate zoology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Boulder is the only location the Larca boulderica is known to inhabit. The arachnids are described as miniature scorpions with no stinger, and are not harmful to humans or pets.

In caves alone, Steinmann and his family have discovered around 100 new species in Colorado, often naming them after their location or people.

“I still think there’s a lot to be discovered in Boulder County if one just looks closely and gets a little bit lucky.”