Newly discovered spider species named after Enid Blyton characters

Scientists have discovered nine new spider species in Sri Lanka and named six of them after Enid Blyton characters, the Metro reported.

Six of the goblin spiders have been named Tiggy, Bom, Snippy, Snooky and Tumpy and the brownies Chippy. However, their entire names are Silhouettella snippy, Silhouettella tiggy, Cavisternum bom, Ischnothyreus chippy, Pelicinus snooky, and Pelicinus tumpy.

Mongabay reported the length of the new species is only one to three millimetres.

The discovery was made by arachnologist Suresh Benjam of the National Institute of Fundamental Studies in Sri Lanka.

Are you wondering about the Blyton connection? Benjamin told Mongabay:  "My son and daughter had discovered some old Enid Blyton books that belonged to me and my two siblings while playing at my parent’s place."

His children wanted him to read the stories, so he chose The Firework Goblins. This was all while he was looking for good names for his new find.

Many of the newly discovered spiders primarily live in single forest area.

The findings were originally published in the Evolutionary Systematics.