Scientists Name New Spider Species After Star Trek’s Iconic Trio

Brazillian scientists have identified three new species of spider and named them after Star Trek’s original trio of leads: Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. The researchers, headquartered in the Emilio Goeldi Parenese Museum in Pará, dubbed the Latin American spiders R. kirk, R. spock, and R. mccoy. The scientists discovered R. kirk in Costa Rica, found R. spock in Campeche, Mexico, and met R. mccoy in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The team recently published their findings in the European Journal of Taxonomy. The research team named the spiders after Star Trek characters because of their shape, which reminded the researchers of Starfleet starships.

“They somewhat resemble Star Trek spaceships,” Alexandre B. Bonaldo, who co-authored the paper on the team’s findings, tells the New York Times. “Arachnologists have a long tradition of giving interesting scientific names for new genera and species, as most of us believe it is a great opportunity to acknowledge people or draw parallels with pop culture and local customs.”

The spiders belong to the new Roddenberryus genus, named by Bonaldo and co-author Alexander Sánchez-Ruiz for Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. The genus includes R. kirk, R. spock, and R. mccoy and two other spiders, R. sargi and R. pelegrina., which had previously belonged to the Caponina genus, but now fit better with the Star Trek trio.

Scientists have been naming species of fauna after pop culture icons for years. In 2023 alone, a group of Australian scientists recently christened another newly discovered spider species with a name inspired by Venom star Tom Hardy, and another group somewhat ironically named a new snake species after Indiana Jones star Harrison Ford.

Star Trek: The Original Series Character on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley originated Kirk, Spock, and Bones in Star Trek: The Original Series. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Karl Urban stepped into those respective roles for the rebooted Star Trek film series, starring in 2009’s Star Trek and its sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond. They expect to return if and when the fourth Star Trek movie in the series enters production. In the meantime, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ Paul Wesley and Ethan Peck are the latest actors to play Kirk and Spock. With Mr. Scott appearing in , could fans soon see a younger version of Bones on the Star Trek prequel show?

“The longer we stay on the air — do we still say that? — the longer we stream, the longer we do whatever it is we do to let people watch us, the more likely it becomes,” co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman teased during an interview with Variety. “Given our druthers — because Henry and I are both greedy and gluttons for punishment — we’d go right into the TOS era and see what happens. So, if we’re around long enough, sure.”

Star Trek: The Original Series is streaming now on Paramouunt+. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ first two seasons also are streaming on Paramount+. Production on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 is currently halted due to industry strikes but is ready to resume as soon as they end.