New species of “smiley-faced” spiders have been discovered by students of the University of Vermont. The researchers have discovered 15 new species and have named them after celebrities such as Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, David Attenborough, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Bernie Sanders among others. As per the report by the Indian Express, the list of these names of the spiders have been published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. The researchers have mentioned the names of new spider species as Spintharus davidattenboroughi, Spintharus barackobamai, Spintharus michelleobamaae, and Spintharus berniesandersi as well as Spintharus davidbowieiand and Spintharus leonardodicaprioi.
Why Celebrities?
Telling the reason behind choosing the names of the celebrities, Ingi Agnarsson, the professor at University of Vermont in the US said, “In naming these spiders, the students and I wanted to honour people who stood up for both human rights and warned about climate change – leaders and artists who promoted sensible approaches for a better world.” He was further quoted by the Indian Express as saying, “We honoured politicians and star performers that recognise the threat of global climate change and are willing to stand up and do something about it, and that also fight for basic human rights and equality.”
The leading spider expert on the Spintharus genus in earlier decades, Herbert W Levi (1921-2014), had concluded that differences he observed in these spiders across a wide swath of geography represented variation within one species. However, newer molecular techniques used by the researchers show otherwise. The spiders have not been interbreeding or exchanging genes for millions of years. “Thoughts about conservation change dramatically when you go from having a common, widespread species to an endemic on, say, Jamaica that has very specific conservation needs,”Agnarsson said.