Christina Rheims is a researcher at the Instituto Butantan in São Paulo, Brazil. Rheims recently discovered four new spider species and, being a big fan of heavy metal, has named them after members of Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Def Leppard, and Angra.
Rheims named the spiders Extraordinarius bruceickinsoni, Extraordinarius klausmeinei, Extraordinarius rickalleni and Extraordinarius andrematosi, after Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, Scorpions vocalist Klaus Meine, and Angra vocalist Andre Matos. Rheims tells Public Radio International she's just a big fan of metal.
“This is the kind of music I like and I usually listen to. I've always wanted to honor Rick Allen because I think he's an example. You have a drummer that loses an arm, and he continues his career and he learns how to play with only one arm. So he's one of the Extraordinarius as well."
Public Radio International says the new spider species are 1 to 2 centimeters in length, nocturnal and not dangerous to humans.
