Rare spider named after DavidBowie

Thu 10th Sep, 2009 in International News

It seems that David Bowie’s status as some sort of living deity has been added further credence following the decision of a German arachnid expert to name a newly discovered endangered species of spider in honour of the immortal – œ70s pop icon.

The Heteropoda davidbowie, recently discovered in Malaysia, is distinguished not only by its rarity, but its strikingly large size and yellow hair.

Peter Jäger, the expert to discover the species apparently decided to anoint it – œBowie’ in honour of his musical contribution to the arachnid world, of course referring to the 1972 concept album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

According to Jäger, naming spiders after celebrities helps draw attention to the marginal status of many species as human activity destroys their habitats. Unfortunately for this species of spider, they do not share the overactive libido of their namesake, which makes public awareness of the species plight even more crucial to their survival.