Another Day In Parasites

And the winner is … Jeff Daniels. Because when a newly discovered species of parasitic worm needed a name, they gave it his. The worm – Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi – is a tarantula killer, as was Daniels’ character in the 1990 film Arachnophobia. (No spiders were harmed in the production of that film.)

In September 2019, a tarantula breeder contacted University of California, Riverside parasitologist Adler Dillman to help identify a mysterious infection in some of their arachnids – an odd white mass around the spider’s mouth. Dillman recognized the white areas as nematodes.

“It isn’t clear that the nematodes feed on the spider itself. It’s possible that they feed on bacteria that live on the tarantulas,” Dillman said in a UCR news release. So maybe jeffdanielsi are hyperparasites, parasites that are parasitic to other parasites. These gender-fluid hermaphrodites produce their own sperm and eggs and generate about 160 babies in its lifespan, which is 11 days long in the lab. We don’t yet know how long they can live on a tarantula.

The infected tarantulas die a horrible death. Telltale signs of infection are strange behaviors like walking around on tiptoe and not eating, and the spider’s hallmark fangs stop working. “It may take months because tarantulas don't have to eat particularly often. However, if they get this infection, they will die of starvation,” says Dillman.

“When I first heard a new species of nematode had been named after me, I thought, ‘Why? Is there a resemblance?’” Daniels said in remarks to UCR. “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.”

Photo credit: Screenrant