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http://www.sci-news.com/biology/tarantula-gabriel-garcia-marquez-03988.html
Newly-Discovered Species of Tarantula Named after Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A relatively large species of tarantula discovered in an isolated mountain range in Colombia has been named after the famed Colombian novelist and 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Gabriel García Márquez.
The new spider, scientifically named Kankuamo marquezi, was discovered in the Colombian mountain range Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
With its extraordinary defensive hairs, Kankuamo marquezi proved itself as not only a new species, but also a new genus.
A team of scientists led by Dr. Carlos Perafán from the University of the Republic, Uruguay, described the new genus and species in the journal ZooKeys.
“Kankuamo is a noun in apposition and refers to the indigenous people of the Chibcha family from the Caribbean region of Colombia, which inhabits the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, whose language and culture are at endangered,” the researchers explained.
“The specific epithet is a noun in genitive in honor to Gabriel García Márquez, who was a renowned Colombian writer, considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century, and awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature for One Hundred years of Solitude.”
When examined, Kankuamo marquezi showed something extraordinary about its defensive hairs and its genitalia.
The hairs were noted to form a small oval patch of lance-shaped barbs, hypothesized by the team to have evolved to defend their owners by direct contact.
On the other hand, when defending against their aggressors, the rest of the tarantulas in the Theraphosinae subfamily need to first face the offender and then vigorously rub their hind legs against their stomachs.
Aimed and shot at the enemy, a ball of stinging hairs can cause fatal injuries to small mammals when landed into their mucous membrane. Once thrown, the hairs leave a bald spot on the tarantula’s belly.
“This new finding is a great contribution to the knowledge of the arachnids in Colombia and a sign of how much remains to be discovered,” Dr. Perafán and co-authors said.
Interesting.
Some more of my (annoying) book snobbery: I worked in book stores at various times in my younger adulthood (into the 1990s), and in one store was given pretty much total control over a section I called the Avant Garde. They did that because they recognized my brilliance in matters literary.
;>)
I got really territorial about it. Didn’t necessarily stick with the usual time frame for that designation, though, putting books in there by authors from a fairly broad range of chronological time (and place), including Garcia Marquez. If co-workers tried to help out and put Garcia Marquez under M, I’d move it to G, cuz, well, technically, Spanish authors with those two surnames (paternal and maternal) are alphabetized by the paternal surname.
Stuffy, yeah. I know. But I think it’s right to go by the culture in question, as much as possible. Though, I make mistakes sometimes with other cultures, like Chinese or Japanese names, which typically should go surname and then personal name, with these often being reversed.
Long story short: Wonder if they should have named the spider, Kankuamo García Márquezi.
I’m only aware of it because I am into taxonomy/evolutionary bio, etc.
You;ve heard the latest popular argument against evolution, right?
If people came from apes why aren’t apes evolving too?
I’m only aware of it because I am into taxonomy/evolutionary bio, etc.
You;ve heard the latest popular argument against evolution, right?
If people came from apes why aren’t apes evolving too?
And…
If humans evolved from apes, why are there still apes?
And, why aren’t apes evolving into humans?
Pretty good article for lay persons (like me!!):
Dear Science: Why aren’t apes evolving into humans?
Dear Science: Why are there no hominins left on Earth? If evolution is ongoing and species are always changing and adapting, shouldn’t we see new human-like species evolving from apes, even if the old ones died out?
Here’s what science has to say:We hate to be the ones to break it to you, but you are an ape.
So were the Neanderthals, the Hobbits, Lucy the Australopithecus, the Taung child and Peking man. And while we’re at it, so are orangutans, gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees. All of us evolved from a common ancestor that lived about 14 million years ago, and together we make up the taxonomic family Hominidae. Also known as hominids. Also known as great apes.
PA,
I’m looking forward to it. I think it hits HBO in October.
Here’s another one about the future, robots, genetic manipulation and such. Very good film.
ZN,
Thanks. I already knew I could just copy and paste and that would work somewhat. Was hoping, however, to use code to shrink it down to fit the space given, and maintain the (original) height/width ratio.
On my own site, I can do that — because I’m, well, god there. In the universal settings, and in individual posts. It’s difficult being a mere mortal sometimes.
;>)
In the novel, Dune, Paul repeats, “Fear is the mind killer.” The full Bene Gesserit litany being:
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
One could also substitute “absolute certainty” for “fear.” If we were certain we knew all, we’d stop using a goodly bit of our minds. This is true for both the religious and the scientific. The best scientists don’t go for absolute certainty, and love mysteries. They know it gives them endless projects to work on. And the best religious minds, like Pascal and Kierkegaard, thought absolute certainty was a delusion. They struggled with their faith on a daily basis, and drew strength from that struggle.
But it is possible we were put here for a purpose…just like it’s possible that 9/11 was carried out by Amish insurgents despite no evidence to support it and a ton of evidence to suggest otherwise. 🙂
Are you sure there isn’t any evidence?
Ohio Amish beard-cutting gang faces unfamiliar life behind bars
I would not agree with that. My own view is more ‘agnostic-ish.’
I’d say we dont/cant ‘know’ if life/world/universe was ‘meant to be here.’My own view of fundamental questions like that is “its a mystery”
w
vWell, it’s true we can’t say with absolute certainty that we are the product of random chance, but everything we currently know about evolution and the origin of the universe would suggest its so.
But it is possible we were put here for a purpose…just like it’s possible that 9/11 was carried out by Amish insurgents despite no evidence to support it and a ton of evidence to suggest otherwise.
====================
Well, but i just dont think thats persuasive. The “everything we currently know about evolution…suggests it so”.
I think that statement ignores the context. That context being…the Universe is like…an ocean… and human knowledge is like a drop of water.
w
v
“I know not how I may seem to others, but to myself I am but a small child wandering upon the vast shores of knowledge, every now and then finding a small bright pebble to content myself with.” ― Plato
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