Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi
Encyclopedia
Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi is a species
of trapdoor spider
, described in 2007 by East Carolina University
professor of biology Jason E. Bond
and Norman I. Platnick
, curator at the American Museum of Natural History
in New York
. It is named after Canadian rock music
ian Neil Young
.
Bond & Platnick describe the male holotype
and female paratype
, which were collected in Jefferson County
, Alabama
in 1998. While specimens have been collected repeatedly since 1940, it was only in 2007 that they were recognized as a new species. He co-wrote a paper revising the genus
with Norman I. Platnick, describing this and several other new species.
M. neilyoungi is widely distributed throughout Alabama, with one known locality from northwestern Florida
.
Bond received $750,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation
in 2005 and 2006 to classify the trapdoor spider species and contribute to the foundation’s Tree of Life project
.
Bond opted to name the spider after his favorite musician, Neil Young, whose music and activism on peace and justice he appreciates.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of trapdoor spider
Trapdoor spider
Trapdoor spiders are medium-sized mygalomorph spiders that construct burrows with a cork-like trapdoor made of soil, vegetation and silk. Some similar species are also called trapdoor spiders, such as the Liphistiidae, Barychelidae, Cyrtaucheniidae and some Idiopidae and Nemesiidae...
, described in 2007 by East Carolina University
East Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
professor of biology Jason E. Bond
Jason Bond
Jason E. Bond is a professor of biology and director of the Biodiversity Learning Center at Auburn University. When he was an associate professor with the Department of Biology at East Carolina University, he discovered the trapdoor spider Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi. He went to undergraduate school...
and Norman I. Platnick
Norman I. Platnick
Norman I. Platnick is an American arachnologist, and the Peter J. Solomon Family Curator of the invertebrate zoology department of the American Museum of Natural History. A 1973 Ph.D...
, curator at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It is named after Canadian rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
ian Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
.
Bond & Platnick describe the male holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
and female paratype
Paratype
Paratype is a technical term used in the scientific naming of species and other taxa of organisms. The exact meaning of the term paratype when it is used in zoology is not the same as the meaning when it is used in botany...
, which were collected in Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Alabama
Jefferson County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama, with its county seat being located in Birmingham.As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Jefferson County was 658,466...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
in 1998. While specimens have been collected repeatedly since 1940, it was only in 2007 that they were recognized as a new species. He co-wrote a paper revising the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
with Norman I. Platnick, describing this and several other new species.
M. neilyoungi is widely distributed throughout Alabama, with one known locality from northwestern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Bond received $750,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
in 2005 and 2006 to classify the trapdoor spider species and contribute to the foundation’s Tree of Life project
Tree of Life Web Project
The Tree of Life Web Project is an ongoing Internet project providing information about the diversity and phylogeny of life on Earth. This collaborative peer reviewed project began in 1995, and is written by biologists from around the world....
.
Bond opted to name the spider after his favorite musician, Neil Young, whose music and activism on peace and justice he appreciates.