A newly identified species of Australian spider has been named Venomius tomhardyi, after scientists spotted markings on the arachnid’s body reminiscent of Tom Hardy’s on-screen alien symbiote partner Venom from Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.
The authors of a new study published in the journal Evolutionary Systematics explained that conspicuous black markings on the spider’s thorax reminded them of the patterns visible on Venom’s head after it merges with Marvel character Eddie Brock, who is played by Tom Hardy in the movies.
This realisation led the scientists to name the newly identified spider genus Venomius, and to give the only known species within that genus the name of V. tomhardyi, after the big man himself.
🕷️ Can you see why this #spider was named after Tom Hardy and his #Marvel character, Venom?
Check out the @Pensoft blog to read more about the #newspecies!
🔗 https://t.co/7PwbQZPRZs#taxonomy #Araneae pic.twitter.com/pK9kGcZNbD
— Evol. Systematics (@EvolSystematics) September 12, 2023
This isn’t the first time the scientific community has looked to popular fantasy for naming inspiration. Earlier this year a new species of snake discovered in the mountains of Peru was named Tachymenoides harrisonfordi, after actor Harrison Ford, who portrayed the iconic snake-hating archaeologist Indiana Jones on the silver screen. For the record, the legendary actor has also lent his name to a species of ant (Pheidole harrisonfordi), and a spider (Calponia harrisonfordi).
Similarly earlier in 2023 a butterfly was named Saurona in reference to the dark lord Sauron from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, because it had wing markings reminiscent of the flaming eye seen in the sky above the fortress of Barad-dur in Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations. 2022 also saw the most distant star discovered to date named in honour of the character Earendil from Tolkien’s The Silmarillion.
Now, both Tom Hardy and antihero Venom share the honour of having an entire species, or in the case of the symbiote, a genus, named after them. Venom is also set to feature heavily in the upcoming PlayStation exclusive title Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 from developer Insomniac.
Stick with IGN to catch up on who Venom has likely merged with this time around, and to get a better look at the cast of villains that will be appearing alongside the symbiote when Spider-Man 2 launches on October 20 later this year.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
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