New Tarantula Species Named After Johnny Cash

A newly discovered species of tarantula has been named after none other than Johnny Cash. The new spider was discovered by researchers at Auburn University and Millsaps College and the research team says they named the all-black spider for the original Man in Black. “I’m a huge Johnny Cash fan. But I didn’t go into this searching for something I could name after him.”More »

By on February 8, 2016

A newly discovered species of tarantula has been named after none other than Johnny Cash. The new spider was discovered by researchers at Auburn University and Millsaps College and the research team says they named the all-black spider for the original Man in Black. “I’m a huge Johnny Cash fan. But I didn’t go into this searching for something I could name after him,” one of the researchers explained. “[W]hen we really started collecting lots of specimens from across the distribution and looking closely at their morphology, DNA and ecological variables, we saw that these specimens were unique and certainly warranted being separated as a separate species,” biologist Chris A. Hamilton says. As if the spider’s black coloration wasn’t enough of a nod to Cash, it was also initially discovered in the city of Folsom, California. Copyright(c) 2016 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedLess «

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