New Spider Species Named After “Venom”

September 12, 2023

A newly discovered Australian spider has been named after British actor Tom Hardy and his onscreen Marvel character Venom.

Found on an expedition in Tasmania, the spider’s official designation is and it’s the only current species of the orb-weaving spider genus Venomius. The genus is part of the Araneidae family of spiders.

News of the discovery was published in the open access journal Evolutionary Systematics by scientists MSc Giullia Rossi, Dr Pedro Castanheira and Dr Volker Framenau from Murdoch University in Perth partnering with Dr Renner Baptista from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

The black spots on the arachnid’s abdomen reportedly reminded the scientists of Venom’s head, inspiring them to select the name. The spiders are also distinct for building silk-lined holes in the branches of trees for shelter, as well as having different genitalia.

Tom Hardy portrays Eddie Brock and his alter-ego Venom across two Marvel films to date with a third on the way. Filming on that began in late June in Spain, but was halted the next month due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

For now it remains scheduled to be released on July 12th 2024. The holotype of the new species is being preserved at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery.

Source: Pensoft (via Metro)

Source: New Spider Species Named After “Venom” – Dark Horizons