The Beatles' John Lennon is being honored by having a new species of spider named after him – and not just any old spider but one of world's largest species, a tarantula.
Researchers Fernando Perez-Miles, of the University of the Republic in Uruguay, and Alexandre Bonaldo and Laura Miglio, both from the Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi in Brazil, came up with the honor after discovering they were all fans of Lennon and the band,
according to the Express.
The South American researchers discovered a new species of tarantula – named Bumba Lennoni – in the Western Brazilian Amazonia, which they placed in the Theraphoside family. That family of spiders is among the world's largest, noted the Express.
The species has urticating hairs on its stomach that irritates the skin of those who came into contact with it as a defensive mechanism.
NBC News reported that the new tarantula specimens, which researchers first detailed in the
journal ZooKey, were found and captured in Caxiuaná, Pará, Brazil.
"This species differs from the other species of the genus in the extremely reduced keel on male palpal organ and in the higher number of labial and maxillary cuspules," the researchers wrote, adding that they believe the spider was also nocturnal.
Lennon and the Beatles continue to find fans even though he was killed by Mark David Chapman in 1980. Lennon teamed to Paul McCartney to form one of the most successful songwriting duos in musical history.
Along with George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the Beatles reached rare musical heights as one of the most influential acts in Rock and Roll history before the Lennon left the group in 1969,
according to Biography.com.
Kess Moeliker, curator at the Natural History Museum Rotterdam in The Netherlands, shared the news about Lennon's latest honor on Twitter.
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