World’s Largest Spider Web, Home to 110,000 Arachnids, Found in Underwater Cave

Scientists have discovered the world’s largest spider web in an underwater cave on the border of Greece and Albania.

The web spans a surface area of 1,076.4 square feet along the wall of Sulfur Cave and houses a colony of an estimated 110,000 spiders from two different species, according to a recent report published by the international science journal, Subterranean Biology. 

There are around 69,000 Tegenaria domestica spiders and 42,000 Prinerigone vagan spiders in the web. The colony is the “first documented case of colonial web formation in these species,” the report stated.

“Molecular data confirmed the identity of the two spider species and revealed that their populations in Sulfur Cave are genetically distinct from other populations,” per Subterranean Biology. “Regarding T. Domestica, we found a seasonal pattern in fecundity, with significantly larger egg clutches in early summer.”

According to the report, the spider species has been able to grow its colony in the cave with the abundance of resources it provides. The cave also includes 512 other species from 20 different families, scientists discovered.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

A team of cavers from the Czech Speleological Society first discovered the spider web in 2022 while researcher István Urák, of the Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania in Romania, visited the cave to analyze the spider web in 2024.

He told the Metro of his discovery, ‘It is a unique case of two species cohabiting within the same web structure in this huge number: approximately 69,000 Tegenaria domestica coexist with about 42,000 Prinerigone vagans on this single large web.”

“Admiration for nature’s ingenuity, capable of creating such a masterpiece by spiders not known for their social cooperation; respect for the magnitude and wisdom of the forces that shape it; and gratitude for having had the opportunity to see and even touch it firsthand,” he said.