Neil Young gets new honor -- his own spider via Reuters reports that one of my favorite musicians, Neil Young, received the honor of having a new species named in his honor.
A new species of trapdoor spider was named Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi by Jason Bond, an East Carolina University biologist. Bond explained:
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 new spider was discovered by Bond in Jefferson County, Alabama, in 2007.
Young wasn't the only musician that had a species named for him. Roy Orbison had a beetle named in his honor. It was named the Orectochilus orbisonorum or the whirligig beetle because it looks as if it is wearing a tuxedo.
Pretty cool. Who will be the first search guy to have a species named for him or her? Larry? Sergey? Marrisa? Jerry? Matt? Danny? or would it be more fitting for a black hatter?
Comments
Uh-oh, now we're getting into classic Road Runner territory (e.g., "Fastus Birdus"). How about "Scurrius CartoonBarryi" for a fast-scurrying spider? Or "Californiphilius Sullivan" for the Cali-lovin' Danny?
Posted by: Winooski | May 12, 2008 11:40 AM