12 September 2023 , 19:45
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Marvel fans rejoice! A recently discovered spider in Australia has been given a name that is a fusion of Tom Hardy and his infamous Marvel character Venom.
Venomius tomhardyi was identified and described by scientists Giullia de F. Rossi, Pedro de S. Castanheira, Renner L. C. Baptista, Volker W. Framenau in the September issues of the journal Evolutionary Systematics. Drs Rossi, Castanheira and Framenau hailed from Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, while Dr Baptista comes from the Federal University of Rio De Janeiro in Brazil.
The creepy crawly has been collected "in southern Australia, from Tasmania to Western Australia, where it builds a circular, vertical orb-web," the release reads. "Spiders often hide in silk-lined hollows in branches of trees when disturbed during the day."
The creepy crawly has been collected 'in southern Australia, from Tasmania to Western Australia, where it builds a circular, vertical orb-web' (Pensoft)"During a recent field trip in southern Australia, we collected a large number of specimens of an unusual species of orb-weaving spiders that did not display the synapomorphies of any of the recently revised genera nor any other genus known to us," the authors said in the journal.
The spiders are a part of the orb-weaving spider family Araneidae Clerck, described as being the third-largest spider family in Australia - with over 220 described species of the eight-legged pests. The category of spider holds a similar status across the world.
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So where did the Marvel reference come from? Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock in the two Venom films. Venom is an alien symbiote antihero often seen as an ally an adversary to Spider Man.
Spots on Venom's head resemble markings on the spider's abdomen (Marvel)"This genus-group name is a reference to the head of the character Venom, with conspicuous black spots, that resembles the abdomen of our species, specifically the male holotype," the journal reads. "The gender of the genus-group name Venomius is masculine."
It is not quite known whether Hardy has been made aware of the new spider or has thoughts about the arachnid being named after him.
It is not quite known whether Hardy has been made aware of the new spider (Getty Images)Hardy is not the first celebrity or notable person who has had the honour of having an animal or an insect named after him. According to the Hastings Aquarium, these folks have animals and other crawlies named after them:
Freddie Mercury and the Cirolana mercuryi crustacean
Elton John and the Leucothoe eltoni crustacean
David Attenborough and the Materpiscis attenboroughi fish
Barack Obama and the Etheostoma obama fish
Nelson Mandela and the Mandelia mirocornata nudibranch (mollusk)
Bob Marley and the Gnathia marleyi crustacean
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Mick Jagger and the Aegrotocatellus Jaggeri artipoda