Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, recently discovered a rare species of worm that kills tarantulas and named it after American actor, producer and musician Jeff Daniels.
The inspiration behind the name “Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi” is the character played by Jeff Daniels, Dr. Ross Jennings, in the 1990 film “Arachnophobia” about a city flooded with a new species of spider.
Although he had arachnophobia, Dr. Jennings overcame his fear and destroyed the spider queen, along with one of her egg bags, preventing the destruction.
“When I first heard that a new species of nematode was named after me, I thought, ‘Why? “Is there a similarity?” Jeff Daniels joked, according to the UC Riverside website.
“Honestly, they honored me with their tribute to me and ‘Arachnophobia’ made me smile. And of course, in Hollywood, you did not succeed until you were recognized by those in the field of parasitology, “he added.
“His character in the film is a spider killer, that’s exactly what these nematodes are,” said Alder Dilman, a parasitologist and university professor who led a team that discovered the nematodes.
Alder Dilman said a tarantula breeder contacted him in September 2019 after noticing that some spiders were suffering from a mysterious infection. Dilman observed a white mass around the spider’s mouth and associated it with nematodes, a type of worm.
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