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Science

New Species of ‘Ambush Predators’ Named After Barack Obama and Other Iconic People (See If You Can Guess Who’s Who)

Dec. 25, 2012 8:01am

An arachnid researcher recently identified 33 new species of trapdoor spiders (genus Aptostichus). You might recognize the inspiration for some of the eight-legged creatures’ Latin names.

Here are a few:

  • A. barackobamai
  • A. bonoi
  • A. chavezi
  • A. dorothealangeae
33 New Species of Trapdoor Aptostichus Spiders Named for Celebrities

A. barackobamai (Photo: Jason Bond)

Did you guess who was who? Perhaps the first and last one in the list were easier — President Barack Obama and Depression-era photographer Dorothea Lange. The middle two represent U2′s lead singer Bono and activist Cesar Chavez.

Try your hand at these two celebrities, which were discovered ahead of this new list of 33:

  • A. stephencolberti
  • A. angelinajolieae
33 New Species of Trapdoor Aptostichus Spiders Named for Celebrities

A view of A. stephencoberti from many angles. (Image: Jason Bond)

The taxonomic fun the Auburn University arachnologist Jason Bond was having didn’t stop at people either. Here are a couple other species with which he had a sense of humor.

  • A. aguacaliente (agua caliente or “hot water” in Spanish)
  • A. sarlacc (Star Wars monster the Sarlacc H/T Smithsonian Magazine for pointing this one out)

As for the spiders themselves, Bond described them as “ambush predators,” according to Wired.

“They wait at burrow entrances at night, until some dull-witted insect comes over. Then they jump out, bite it, and take it to their burrow. This particular group, they pack its carcass down into the bottom of the burrow,” Wired reported Bond saying.

The whole of Bond’s study was published last week in Zoo Keys.

(H/T: Daily Mail)

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Comments (54)

1 2
  • Fubar Frog
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 4:21pm

    The first thing I thought of was the old Who song, “Boris the Spider”.

    Report this comment

    Fubar Frog  
  • yougottabekidding
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 3:54pm

    What’s the matter no new snakes?

    Report this comment

    yougottabekidding  
  • CulperGang
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 3:46pm

    wow! how demeaning tot the arachnids!! they are natures natural pesticides eating other bugs…..so if they are in your house just reclocate them where you can’t see them.
    Liberals are natural born reptiles. Sneaky, ravenously preying on the weak.
    Obama is a small black viper: deadly to America.

    heres a great vid on bam: from a patriot native american.

    http://www.badeagle.com/2012/01/25/the-south-has-risen-obama-will-fall/

    Report this comment

    CulperGang  
    • bannedfromCNN
      Posted on December 26, 2012 at 9:45am

      In tha case of Obama, mor appropriate would have been ‘bathhousicus cockroachii’.

      Report this comment

      bannedfromCNN  
  • denkat56
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 12:07pm

    These spiders do their attacking from eons of self preservation. Obama touts his knowledge, and his attitude has proven of his contempt of his fellow man. All with the use of illegal drugs and flaunting it to Americas youth. He should have his own Latin name, but why hurt the spiders reputation with an inssult

    Report this comment

    denkat56  
  • mrnsnper
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 12:06pm

    obama is a stink bug

    Report this comment

    mrnsnper  
  • rsanchez1
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 11:43am

    I exploit you, still you love me
    I tell you one and one makes three
    I’m the cult of personality

    Report this comment

    rsanchez1  
  • ArmedAndReallyPissed
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 11:21am

    Do we know of a Spider that Murders other Spiders and then Lies about it ? That would be a good match.

    Do you suppose the Families of the four Americans MURDERED in Benghazi are having a wonderful Christmas ? This Communist Pig doesn’t deserve to be named after anything. Not even a hot steaming pile of animal Dung.

    Report this comment

    ArmedAndReallyPissed  
    • rsanchez1
      Posted on December 25, 2012 at 11:44am

      There are spiders, the female murders and beheads the male after luring the male with promises of mating and a good time. I think that fits close enough.

      Report this comment

      rsanchez1  
  • jessieH
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 10:38am

    I can see the resemblence.

    Report this comment

    jessieH  
  • whatthecrazy
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 10:27am

    Merry Christmas everybody!!!!!!!!!

    Report this comment

    whatthecrazy  
  • Walkabout
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 10:16am

    Does naming stuff helter-skelter make it easier for students to remember? Would it not be easier to give new species or fossils descriptive names.

    But naming ugly looking spiders after Stephen Colbert & barack obama is awesome. Naming a snake species after obama or Colbert would be very appropriate.

    Report this comment

    Walkabout  
  • Eastinfection
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 10:13am

    When i was a kid, i used to catch other bugs, then throw them in spider webs just to see if the spider would wrap it up or cut it loose.

    Report this comment

    Eastinfection  
    • whatthecrazy
      Posted on December 25, 2012 at 10:31am

      Me too also tried that with my kids,then they would try to unravel the poor insect because they thought it was mean.lol

      Report this comment

      whatthecrazy  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on December 25, 2012 at 10:50am

      Morning East,

      What? No recipe for baked Spider? LOL

      Merry Tuesday. : )

      Report this comment

      The-Monk  
    • Eastinfection
      Posted on December 25, 2012 at 11:06am

      Hey MONK!

      Happy Festivus to you as well!
      I try to stick to mammals and fishies with my recipes but i’ll see if i can whip something up for you ;)

      Report this comment

      Eastinfection  
    • Eastinfection
      Posted on December 25, 2012 at 11:13am

      Monk..

      best i could do on a busy day:

      Spider Salad
      Steam spiders live (safe method of both asphyxiating and keeping crisp and fresh)
      Chop the legs off the larger spiders and quarter.
      Prepare a bed of romaine lettuce, parsley, Portobello mushrooms in season (chopped), radishes, and scallions.
      Toss in approximately 1 cup chopped spiders, much as you would in a seafood salad, then a generous amount of olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and fresh ground pepper.
      Bon appetit!

      Report this comment

      Eastinfection  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on December 25, 2012 at 12:05pm

      Thanks East…. LOL

      Report this comment

      The-Monk  
    • Gorp
      Posted on December 25, 2012 at 2:01pm

      Yummy! Now I’m hungry all over again.

      Report this comment

      Gorp  
  • ktmrider1
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 9:24am

    I think its awful to disrespect these spiders by naming after obama

    Report this comment

    ktmrider1  
  • Mandolin44
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 9:20am

    Is the one named A. barackobamai, the new one they just discovered in Florida? Hides in the Toilet, and then bites you in the ass when to sit, and is more toxic than a black widow…..

    Report this comment

    Mandolin44  
  • AllAmericanGirl22
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 9:19am

    That thing creeps me out as much as the real one!

    Report this comment

    AllAmericanGirl22  
  • RIGS
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 9:09am

    A “CARP” would be more to the liking a bottom feeder…………………..

    Report this comment

    RIGS  
  • taintso
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 9:06am

    The ‘Barking Spider’ should be in honer of Obama.

    Report this comment

    taintso  
  • jungle J
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 8:59am

    Obama is more of an opportunistic cancer. Hitler and Stalin were similar.

    Report this comment

    jungle J  
    • YAHSHUARULES
      Posted on December 25, 2012 at 9:19am

      You got that right! But do you know how right!

      do you know who Fabians (with logo of wolf in sheep’s clothing), Frankfurt School, Antonio Gramsci, Mattechine Society, Alinksi (who dedicated his book “Rules for Radicals to Lucifer), which Obama taught in Chicago for years, Committees of Correspondence are, SDS, Weathermen, Rathke, Ayres? Connect all the dots that allowed Obama to waltz into the White House…

      All part of the Agenda to create an America so corrupt it stinks and to drive this culture in a direction designed to destroy it. If you don’t know all this you need to find out!

      This is the most comprehensive, best movie I have seen pulling all this
      together. Watch it. Share it. It is free on line for the moment
      https://vimeo.com/52009124

      Report this comment

      YAHSHUARULES  
    • doncorleone
      Posted on December 25, 2012 at 3:26pm

      Bolsheviks really don’t stray from the gameplan. I believe it’s in their hardwiring “upstairs”. I believe he’s more like lenin, present yourself as a moderate, then pull the rug out on the stupid when he’s achieved his goals, then use them as axle grease. Another facet of this is, what I call, “after-market” cynicism. The lefts’ used the same responses towards their antagonists for well over a century now. Marx didn’t create it, he perfected that technique, our state-run’s and politicians continue to spew it,and even though it’s as glove and well-worn as it is, it’s working better than ever.

      Report this comment

      doncorleone  
  • SaturdaysWarrior76
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 8:58am

    Those pictures creep me out! Yikes!

    Report this comment

    SaturdaysWarrior76  
  • Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 8:55am

    Eight legged freaks, the lot of them. Their classification as ambush predators is just that much creepier, and amplified when compared against other predators like Chavez and Obama.

    I do have to wonder if the A. stephencolberti was so named because the markings on its thorax resembled the board Colbert holds up on his show putting things on notice and dead to me.

    Report this comment

    Lesbian Packing Hollow Points  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on December 25, 2012 at 12:08pm

      Hi LPHP’s,

      Merry Christmas and I hope the new year brings you wondrous scientific achievements and insights.

      Report this comment

      The-Monk  
  • E. Goldstein
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 8:55am

    Jason Bond has the sense of humor that Stewart, Colbert and their writers wish they had.
    BTW Colbert should be pronounced as Cold-Bert as he is the animated version of the puppet Bert.

    Report this comment

    E. Goldstein  
  • Noonien_Soong
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 8:52am

    There is a much more fitting example, a cross hybrid between an Armadillo and a Weimaraner. An Armadillo because when cornered he rolls up in defense, As a Weimaraner a small royal hunting dog, small goes after bigger prey larger than himself.

    Report this comment

    Noonien_Soong  
  • susan126
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 8:46am

    I hate spiders…..

    Report this comment

    susan126  
    • whatthecrazy
      Posted on December 25, 2012 at 10:25am

      Had two nightmares my whole life and one was of a huge spider when i was a little girl so like you i hate spiders.i try to reason that they can’t help being hideous after all they were born that way.Barack however chooses to be hideous.Merry Christmas

      Report this comment

      whatthecrazy  
  • Joyzee
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 8:32am

    creepy crawly slithery political people like Biden..*

    Report this comment

    Joyzee  
  • KingCanon
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 8:25am

    Spiders are wonderful creatures! :O

    Report this comment

    KingCanon  
  • nocommie
    Posted on December 25, 2012 at 8:17am

    Baraka Obama is more of a reptile.Listen to the hiss when he speaks,cannot be trusted,slithers.There is a reason why people do not keep rattle snakes as pets.

    Report this comment

    nocommie  
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