''Aptostichus stephencolberti'' is a species of

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

in the family Euctenizidae, named after the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

satirist Stephen Colbert. The spider was discovered on the

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

coastline in 2007.

Spider

''Aptostichus stephencolberti'' is found on coastal dunes that extend from the

Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...

area to the San Francisco Peninsula at Point Lobos and Golden Gate. Compared to closely related species such as '' Aptostichus angelinajolieae'' (named after Angelina Jolie), ''Aptostichus stephencolberti'' is lighter in color. The male holotype and the female paratype both have brownish yellow legs,

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

and chelicerae, while the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

is lighter with dusky stripes. The male has six teeth, while the female has five.

Naming

The spider was named after Colbert after he reported on his television series ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

'' that

Jason Bond Jason E. Bond is a Professor of Entomology and the Schlinger Chair in Insect Systematics at the University of California, Davis. He was previously Professor of Biology, Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences and Director of the Auburn Univ ...

, a professor of biology at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

, named a different species of spider ''

Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi ''Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi'' is a species of spider in the family Euctenizidae, described in 2007 by East Carolina University professor of biology Jason Bond, Jason E. Bond and Norman I. Platnick, curator at the American Museum of Natural Histor ...

'', after the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rock star

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

. Colbert was angered by the fact that Bond had not named a spider after him, and began to appeal for a species of animal to be named after him. He claimed that he already had an eagle and a turtle named after him (although not

taxonomically In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

), so there was no reason that another animal could not be named after him as well. On a later edition of ''The Colbert Report'', Colbert revealed that Bond would name a spider after him, with Colbert claiming, "And all I had to do was shamelessly beg on national television." The two men talked on the phone to decide which spider should be named after Colbert, but as there were 27 different species of spider available, Bond was left to make the final choice. The name ''Aptostichus stephencolberti'' was officially announced as the spider named after Colbert on ''The Colbert Report'' on August 6, 2008. Because Colbert pronounces his surname with a silent "T", the last "T" in ''stephencolberti'' is also silent.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q741732 Euctenizidae Endemic fauna of California Spiders of the United States Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area The Colbert Report Spiders described in 2008 Fauna without expected TNC conservation status

Spider

Naming

See also

References