New Johnny Cash Spider discovered near Folsom Prison

By Chris Burns/Feb. 5, 2016 11:40 am EST

You might be able to guess right off the bat where the spider "Aphonopelma johnnycashi" got its name. Having been discovered in the desert southwest, right near Folsom Prison in Folsom, California, this particular spider has been named after the musician famous for having played a concert at the prison/venue back in 1968: Johnny Cash himself. And it's not alone. This spider is just one of a set of new tarantulas that are being added to the pack this week.

Johnny Cash would be proud. The Man In Black. He wore black for the poor and the beaten down – that fits the bill for all spiders, especially the tarantula. Terrifying in appearance, but entirely harmless in spirit.

You could pick this spider up on the side of the road and let it ride on your shoulder if you wanted.

Authors of a new paper from Auburn University and Millsaps College suggested the newest tarantula – entirely black, of course – be named for both its appearance and its location of discovery.

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"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. Chris Hamilton, lead author of the study.

"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."

According to the study, above you'll see three "typical free-standing burrows" that are made by tarantula species A. chalcodes, A. eutylenum, A. iodius, or A. johnnycashi in desert, grassland, or rocky habitats.

For more information about this new species and the rest of the tarantulas discovered, see the ZooKeys published paper "Taxonomic revision of the tarantula genus Aphonopelma Pocock, 1901 (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae) within the United States". This paper was authored by Chris A. Hamilton, Brent E. Hendrixson, and Jason E. Bond and can be found with code doi: 10.3897/zookeys.560.6264.