2023-09-12 13:18:10
Venomius tomhardyi photographed next to an illustration of Tom Hardy’s Venom character. – ROSSI ET AL./ ZEESHANO0 VIA PIXABAY
MADRID, 12 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Tom Hardy and his Marvel character, Venom, have given their name to an Australian spider. The genus Venomius and its only current species, Venomius tomhardyiwere described after an expedition to Tasmania.
Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock and his alter ego Venom, an antihero closely associated with Spider-Man, in two Marvel films and gives his name to the only species of the new genre. The distinctive black spots on the spider’s abdomen reminded scientists of Venom’s head, which inspired them to choose the unusual name.
The genus belongs to the Araneidae family of spiders that They build vertical circular nets to capture their prey.. Despite resembling the related genus Phonognatha, as both do not have tubercles on their abdomens, the newly described spiders differ in their behavior of creating silk-lined holes in tree branches for shelter, as well as their different genitalia.
The holotype of the new species was discovered and subsequently preserved at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery following an expedition to Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
Complementary specimens were also obtained from scientific collections, and the researchers They examined approximately 12,000 records in Australian and overseas institutions.
Commenting on the big picture of the study, co-author Pedro Castanheira, from Murdoch University in Perth, said: “This is part of long-term research that aims to document the entire Australian spider fauna.which will be of utmost importance for conservation management plans and the continuation of the ten-year plan for taxonomy and biosystematics in Australia and New Zealand.”
“It is really important to continue describing new spiders to assess the total biodiversity of these predators in Australia,” added the study’s first author, Giullia Rossi, also from Murdoch University.
The research is published in Evolutionary Systematics.
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