Alice Cooper and Angus Young were the latest honorees in the discovery of a new spider species by biologist Cristina Anne Rheims. In Brazil, these arachnids became known as rock 'n' roll spiders.
The scientist's inspiration to combine her two passions, science and rock, came with the passing of musician André Matos . Cristina had followed the singer's career from the beginning and was his age. Bruce Dickinson , Klaus Meine , and Rick Allen are the other artists included in the select list of musicians who have given their names to newly discovered species.
Due to their unique characteristics, these spiders belong to the Sparassidae family and the Extraordinarius genus. "The genus Extraordinarius relates to people who are extraordinary in some way," explained the researcher (via Butantan ). The original article reveals that their teeth, membranes, and apophysis are the elements that define them.
The species are distributed throughout the southeastern Atlantic Forest, ranging from northern Espírito Santo to southern São Paulo. Cooper's and Young's spiders are, respectively, from Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro.
Furthermore, according to Butantan , Cristina explains that this nomenclature means much more than a simple tribute: “It’s interesting because you can be creative and use your work to reach people you wouldn’t normally reach. I reached an audience that isn’t used to dealing with science. These are people connected to music and culture who don’t know what it means to describe a species.”
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