Neil Young: Performing in Ottawa in 2006
Courtesy Adrian M. BussWhat do you get for the legendary rock star who has everything? How about naming a new species of spider after him.
That’s just what has happened to Neil Young, the rock/folk/blues icon from Canada who rose to fame with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Pretty much a full-time solo performer now, Young has a new spider named for him.
Specifically, it’s the scientific name Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi. No word on what the common name for the spider, which as discovered last year in Alabama, will be. I’d lean toward calling it simply Neil.
Jason Bond, a biologist from East Carolina University, found the new species of trapdoor spider and opted to name it after his favorite performer.
Besides being a talented musician, Neil Young directs movies and has a huge hobbiest interest 
Trapdoor spider: Performing in a cobweb near you.
Courtesy LA Dawsonin trains. I can’t track down what his feelings are about spiders, however. And Young is not the first musician to have a creature named after him. A species of beetle that looks as if it is wearing a tuxedo -- the whirligig beetle, or Orectochilus orbisonorum -- was named earlier this year after the late rock 'n' roll legend Roy Orbison and his widow Barbara.
Of course, there are some unintentional rock artists connected to the animal kingdom by name. The Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea comes quickly to mind. Can you think of any others? Share them here on the Buzz.
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