Newly Discovered Spider Species Named After Spider-Man Character Venom

Spider-Man's Venom inspired the name of a newly-discovered spider in our world. In the pages of Evolutionary Systematics, the Tom Hardy anti-hero was name-dropped when it came time to describe the Venomius branch of arachnids. Scientists MSc Giullia Rossi, Dr. Pedro Castanheira, and Dr. Volker Framenau of Peth's Murdoch University named these black-headed little creatures. The Venomius spiders are orb-weavers capable of building their own upright circular webs. Also, they carve holes in trees for shelter. The scientists were inspired by Venom's trademark face markings when they saw the abdomen on the Venomius spiders. 

Dr. Pedro Castanheira, contributing author on the paper said, "This is part of a long-term research that aims to document the entire Australian spider fauna, which will be of extreme importance for conservation management plans and the continuation of the decadal plan for taxonomy and biosystematics in Australia and New Zealand."

First author MSc Giullia Rossi also thinks the discovery of new spiders is absolutely crucial when it comes to getting the full picture about the continent. "It is really important to keep describing new spiders to assess the total biodiversity of these predators in Australia," she argues.

A Wild Year For Venom Fans

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has thrust Venom back into the forefront for a ton of Marvel fans. From the moment that first teaser hit, you could feel the anticipation building. Of all of Spidey's enemies, there's just something incredibly imposing about Venom and the symbiotic. Spider-Man 2 creative director Bryan Intihar talked to Entertainment Weekly about how much the antagonist would be tied to Spider-Man. It feels like it's a darker tale than the first game or Spider-Man: Miles Morales. That means, the inky black suit and all the drama that come with it play alongside the story perfectly.

"We wanted to try something very different, and I don't think you can get much more different from Doc Ock than you do Venom," Intihar said of the choice behind making Venom the villain in Spider-Man 2. "It's about power, it's about strength, it's about being slighted, it's about Peter being involved much more in the creation of Venom. I think that's what attracted us."

What Makes The Venom Design So Enduring?

Over the years, Venom has remained one of the most popular Spider-Man villains/antagonists. His presence in the Spider-Man video game series and the successful franchise of Sony Marvel movies are both points to be weighed when considering this. Co-creator Todd McFarlane spoke to IGN about the design of Venom this year. He explained that his massive size is a huge part of what makes comic readers and viewers sit up and take notice of what's going on.

"So let me tell you the first thing I always look for, given I'm the visual creator of him: I intentionally made him bigger than an average superhero, right? Not seeing any other characters in there, he looks big. He has big, broad shoulders. If you now put an average person and he's at least 20, 30, 40, 50% bigger than an average person, even Iron Man, then I go yes. For me, that's a giant point," McFarlane elaborated.

Do you think the spider looks like Venom? Let us know in the comments down below!