Evolutionary Systematics News Today

From frogs to orchids, many organisms go dormant or move underground for lengthy stints

A new kind of Australian spider is named after Tom Hardy's performance as Eddie Brock in Marvel and Sony's Venom movies.

Tom Hardy and his Marvel character Venom have given their names to a newly discovered Australian spider. The genus Venomius and its only current species Venomius tomhardyi are described in the open access scientific journal Evolutionary Systematics by researchers from Murdoch University (Perth, Australia) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), following their expedition to Tasmania. The distinctive black spots on the spider’s abdomen inspired the unusual name.

One of the researchers who found the frog said his immediate reaction was "Bloody hell!"

The spider is found in the coastal areas of New South Wales and Queensland.

The spider is found in the coastal areas of New South Wales and Queensland.

The kidney garden spider features a white body with black accents that form a the pattern of a face with a mustache, and according to Pringles, the design is a spitting image of its mascot.

A photo of an odd-looking amphibian drew attention on Twitter last week, where it was described as a “smooth lil fella”, compared to a melted tootsie roll candy, and likened to the chocolate frogs from Harry Potter. “I’m quite surprised at how fast the popularity of this frog is rising up,” Germán Chávez, a researcher […]

A research team from India found a previously undiscovered species of kukri snake after they were fascinated by a picture posted on Instagram. Researchers were able to identify that the snakes belonged to a species that had previously been unknown to science.

How scientists found Nemo, Australias newest dancing spider The arachnid, formally named after the cartoon clownfish, is the latest in a wave of peacock spider discoveries. ByJustin Meneguzzi Email In a wetland near South Australia’s Mount Gambier, Sheryl Holliday crouched in ankle-deep water, camera lens trained on blooming purple orchids a few feet away. Just as Holliday prepared to hit the shutter, she caught a glimpse of something tiny jumping out of the frame.  She didn’t know it on t...