Researchers, including members of the Czech Speleological Society, were exploring sulfur caves in 2022 to survey underground wildlife. In one cavern, they found the huge spider megacity and reported it to other scientists, who made several site visits to learn more about the unusual colony.

The team identified the two species by running DNA tests and studying their morphology. Both are usually solitary, so finding them coexisting in a colony was a major surprise, as several researchers detail in a paper published in the journal Subterranean Biology.