New Species of Spider Named After Neil Young
It's not often I can link my two great loves (Music and arachnology), via this blog; but as of today let the witty Neil Young/ spider references begin. The iconic singer-songwriter has had a spider named after him. In scientific circles a rare and very special honour.
When East Carolina University biologist Jason Bond discovered a new species of trapdoor spider, he opted to name the arachnid after Young, calling it Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi. “There are rather strict rules about how you name new species,” Bond said in a statement, Reuters reports. “As long as these rules are followed you can give a new species just about any name you please. With regards to Neil Young, I really enjoy his music and have had a great appreciation of him as an activist for peace and justice.”The biologist came across the new species of spider in Jefferson County, Alabama, in 2007. Bond says the spiders belonging to the trapdoor genus distinguish themselves from one species to the next on the basis of their genitalia and primarily live in burrows sealed off with trap doors.
On that basis alone I wonder if Milton Berle has had a spider named after him.*
* Read the Uncle Miltie Offstage Section
1 comment:
I heard about this on CBC the other day. How do I get a spider named after me? A trap-door spider nonetheless! Which are uber-cool.
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