This Tarantula Is Being Named After Johnny Cash

A new tarantula species that lives in California is being named after Johnny Cash. The species, now dubbed Aphonopelma johnnycashi, popped up near Folsom Prison, the subject of Cash’s hit song “Folsom Prison Blues.”

“It’s a perfect name,” said Dr Hamilton, a postdoctoral researcher at the Florida Museum of Natural History. “It fits the spider – it’s found around Folsom and the males are predominantly all black, so it fits his image. I have a Johnny Cash tattoo so I was very happy that it worked out that way.”

Biologists recently took a look at the Aphonopelma genus containing dozens of tarantula genera and cleaned up the taxonomy. What were previously considered 50+ species have been consolidated to 29, including 14 entirely new species. The new research is detailed in the ZooKeys journal.

Aphonopelma johnnycashi was found roaming the foothills of the western Sierra Nevada mountains, where Folsom Prison is located.

[H/T BBC]