New tarantula species named after Johnny Cash

Washington: A newly discovered black tarantula species has been named after renowned American singer Johnny Cash by scientists who reclassified 55 known species and added 14 new ones.

The mostly black tarantula species was discovered near Folsom State Prison in California, which is the subject of one of Cash's most famous songs, 'Folsom Prison Blues,' recorded during a concert at the prison in 1968.

Researchers from Auburn University and Millsaps College in US reclassified 55 known tarantula species down to 15, while adding 14 new species, including Aphonopelma johnnycashi. Study lead author and arachnologist Chris Hamilton from Auburn's Department of Biological Sciences said the male spider's dark colouration reminded him of the trademark black attire of Cash, who died in September 2003, aged 71.

The 10-year study assessed nearly 3,000 tarantulas found throughout the southwest region of the US, with the researchers looking at differentiators such as DNA, anatomy, geography and behaviour. The spiders were collected by researchers, citizen-scientists and borrowed from museum collections.

Because tarantula species are similar anatomically, but with a wide variance in size from six inches to less than an inch, the taxonomy proved problematic to previous scientists and was the reason the spider was divided into more species than was merited, 'Gizmag' reported.

Researchers further grouped their 29 species into five lineages: a California-only group, a western group, eastern group, high-elevation group and group with several miniaturised species. Tarantulas are found throughout Mexico and Central America, and across the southern third of the US from the Mississippi River to California. The study was published in the journal ZooKeys.