A fan of Neil Young who happens to be a biologist named a newly discovered spider after the Canadian rocker. The trapdoor spider, Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi lives in Alabama.
East Carolina University biologist
Jason Bond recently declared the spider is a new species and has sent students there to collect more of the species for specimens.
The musician is "worthy of that honour" because he's been an activist for social and political issues, said Bond.
Bond is known for using names of people he knows when naming new species of spiders; Stasimopus mendelai is named after the South African civil rights leader Nelson Mandela and the spider Apomastus kristenae is named after his wife, Kristen. I hope he didn't use his wife's name to get out of an anniversary present.
There are currently about 30 species of trapdoor spiders in California that need to be named. Bond has a list of names that are on his mind for those but not all of the spiders get a named after people.
Joel Graves, a spokesman for Young says that the company Lookout Manager that handles the Canadian has no comment.
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Neil Young Has New Spider Named After Him
