Did You Know There's A Rare Malaysian Spider Named After Rock Star David Bowie?
Introducing Heteropoda davidbowie.
By John Lim — 13 Jan 2016, 01:15 PM
Flamboyant and legendary rock star David Bowie passed away last Sunday, 10 January, after a battle with cancer. He was 69 years old.
David Bowie, whose incomparable sound and chameleon-like ability to reinvent himself made him a pop music fixture for more than four decades, has died. He was 69.
"David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer," said a statement posted on his official social media accounts. "While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief."
He was known for his many alter egos (which Lim Kok Wing isn't a fan of), and some of his most celebrated work has used the word "spider" in its title: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, the Glass Spider tour.
The Glass Spider Tour was an 1987 worldwide concert tour by David Bowie, launched in support of his album Never Let Me Down. It began in May 1987 and was preceded by a 2-week press tour that saw Bowie visit 9 countries throughout Europe and North America to drum up public interest in the tour.
So, it just makes total sense that there's a spider out there that bears David Bowie's name - a particularly freaky-looking one.
The spider can only be found in parts of Malaysia!
You may not know this, but a rare yellow-coloured spider that is only found in parts of Malaysia was named after the late rock star David Bowie. The spider, discovered seven years ago by an individual named Peter Jager, is called Heteropoda davidbowie.
thestar.com.myKnown for its large size and yellow hair, the David Bowie spider hunts by pouncing upon its victims and injects them with venom
What makes the electric yellow Heteropoda davidbowie stand out is “the very striking color pattern on its front,” says Peter Jäger, a German arachnologist at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt.
It stalks and pounces upon its victims and injects them with venom. Adult David Bowie spiders can be found clinging to tree bark, while younger ones have been found on the forest floor in leaf litter or in the leaves of shrubs and trees.
atlasobscura.com
As for the reason behind the name, Jäger says aside from similarities to Bowie, naming arachnids after celebrities helped draw attention to the dangers of extinction
Peter Jäger, the German spider expert who discovered the Heteropoda davidbowie, said that naming spiders after celebrities helped draw attention to the marginal status of many species as human activity destroys their habitats.
telegraph.co.ukWell, it's not every day you get to have a creepy crawly named after you. Still a legacy to leave behind, albeit an interesting one.
RIP David Bowie!
