Newly Discovered Australian Spider Species Named After Sir David Attenborough

Posted on August 5, 2012

An Australian spider, Prethopalpus attenboroughi, has been named after British broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough. The tiny spider is about a millimeter long. It is a type of goblin spider found only on Horn Island off northern Queensland. You can see an image of the spider here.

Attenborough said in his acceptance speech, "Naming a species is the biggest of compliments that you could ask from any scientific community and I truly thank you very very much indeed for this one." Take a look:

The Telegraph notes that Attenborough also has a plesiosaur, rat eating pitcher plant, exting fish, a tree and an echidna named after him.


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