A newly-discovered rare yellow spider has been named after rock star David Bowie in an effort to raise awareness about the number of arachnid species facing extinction.
As reports the Daily Telegraph, the Heteropoda davidbowie is characterized by its large size and bristly yellow hair, and is only found in parts of Malaysia.
Peter Jäger, the German spider expert who discovered the Heteropoda davidbowie (and that is a name I doubt I’ll get tired of saying anytime soon) said that he named the spider after the famous British musician in order to promote awareness about arachnid species on the brink of extinction – because for all we’re all “save the whales, save the whales!” humanity rarely pays attention to our eight-legged friends. Unless, of course, we’re being bitten by them in order to receive superpowers.
Though traditional environmental authorities are reluctant to place species like spiders on official endangered lists, Jäger believes that mindset is a mistake, and that the decline of arachnid species “undermine’s natures genetic diversity.” Last year, the Rameshwaram Parachute Spider was placed on a “red list” of extremely endangered species, with less than 500 specimens thought to remain on the Indian island of Rameshwaram thanks to deforestation.
But why Bowie, of all people? Why not Heteropoda peterparker? Why, because Bowie previously promoted awareness of spider-well-being with his 1972 concept album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and his backup band of the same name. True, they might have been Martian spiders, but spiders nonetheless. So, Heteropoda davidbowie it is.
In other news, research suggests that girls may be born with an inherent and instinctual fear of spiders. Whether or not anybody is born with an inherent and instinctual fear of David Bowie has yet to be studied.
Hey, how do you kill the Bowie Spider? With a Bowie Knife! Hah! (Only don’t, because they might be endangered).
Published: Sep 8, 2009 07:10 pm