Jeff Daniels Has A New Species Of Spider-Killing Worms Named For Him Because Of “Arachnophobia”

Jan 20, 2022 @ 7:28am

If you remember the 1990 movie “Arachnophobia” starring Jeff Daniels than this makes sense. Scientists discovered a new species of parasitic worm that’s particularly deadly to the hairy spiders and decided to name it Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi. In the movie, Jeff’s character saves a town from an invasion of deadly spiders … and the scientists at UC Riverside must be fans of the cult classic.

Daniels thinks it’s cool: “Honestly, I was honored by their homage to me and Arachnophobia. Made me smile. And of course, in Hollywood, you haven’t really made it until you’ve been recognized by those in the field of parasitology.”BTW, jeffdanielsi do some pretty nasty things once they infect tarantulas — the spiders’ limbs are slowly paralyzed … making them walk on their 8 tiptoes, and their mouths and fangs are rendered useless. They eventually starve to death.

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