New tarantula named after late country singer Johnny Cash

A team of biologists from Auburn University and Millsaps College have identified 14 brand new species of arachnids, including a never-before-seen breed of tarantula named in honor of singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, that live in the southwestern United States.

The newfound species, which are described in a paper published by the journal ZooKeys, nearly double the number of large-bodies, hairy members of the genus Aphonopelma  known to live in the region, lead author Dr. Chris Hamilton and his colleagues explained in a statement.

“We often hear about how new species are being discovered from remote corners of the Earth, but what is remarkable is that these spiders are in our own backyard,” said Dr. Hamilton. “With the Earth in the midst of a sixth mass extinction, it is astonishing how little we know about our planet’s biodiversity, even for charismatic groups such as tarantulas.”

Among the new species is the Aphonopelma johnnycashi, which was named in honor of the legendary recording artist due to the fact that the males typically have a solid black color (Cash was well known for his propensity to wear all-black clothing), and the fact that it was originally found near Folsom Prison (which was immortalized in a Cash song).

Research finds 29 confirmed tarantula species in US

According to the study authors, tarantulas belong to the genus Aphonopelma are among the most unique kinds of spiders found in the US. One of the reasons these particular arachnids are special is the extreme range in sizes that the species can be. Some of these spiders are small enough to fit onto the face of a quarter, while other can have a leg span of up to six inches (15 cm).

Aphonopelma can be found in 12 different states throughout the southern US, ranging from west of the Mississippi River to California, and are most frequently spotted when the weather is warm and the males leave their burrows in search of mates. Scientists knew little about these arachnids prior to the new study, and as Dr. Hamilton pointed out, at one time there were claims that more than 50 different species of tarantulas were found in the US.

This is a comparison of the largest and the smallest tarantula species in the United States. These are adult females of Aphonopelma anax (L) from Texas and Aphonopelma paloma (R) from Arizona. (Credit: Dr. Brent Hendrixson (A. anax) and Dr. Chris A. Hamilton (A. paloma))

This turned out to be incorrect, as many of these so-called different species actually turned out to be members of the same species. The study authors set out to clear up the confusion surrounding tarantulas by spending more than a decade hunting them down and studying the diversity and the distribution of more than 3,000 specimens across a variety of different environments.

Calling their work most comprehensive taxonomic study ever performed on a tarantula group, Dr. Hamilton and his colleagues explained that they used an “integrative” approach to taxonomy by using anatomical, behavioural, distributional, and genetic data to discern between the various groups of arachnids. They found that there are a total of 29 Aphonopelma species living in the US, 14 of which had not been previously described.

“Two of the new species are confined to single mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona, one of the United States’ biodiversity hotspots,” said co-author Brent Hendrixson. “These fragile habitats are threatened by increased urbanization, recreation, and climate change. There is also some concern that these spiders will become popular in the pet trade due to their rarity, so we need to consider the impact that collectors may have on populations as well.”

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