Are you a music lover? Have you ever been teased for being obsessed with songs by a particular artist? Well, you might not be alone, because a scientist from China recently named 16 new species of spider after songs by a famous pop star.
Chinese scientist Mi Xiaoqi has named 16 newly discovered spider species after songs by Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jay Chou! Yes, that’s right. Jay Chou, who is a beloved figure in Mandarin-speaking regions has produced several chartbusters including his most admired track Love Confessions.
Mi Xiaoqi, who is a professor at Tongren University in China’s southwestern Guizhou province, recently listed the new species of arachnids in a paper published in the academic journal Zoological Research: Diversity and Conservation. Published in December, the paper has gone viral with netizens and fans of Jay Chou discovering that the spiders have names of some popular tracks.
Xiaoqui has named one of the arachnids, the 3.5-millimetre long Cyclosa xingqing sp. nov. as the ‘Starry Mood spider’. This spider is named after Chou’s chartbuster love song from his debut album ‘Jay’ released in 2000. Other names include ‘Rainbow spider’, ‘Dragon Fist spider’, and ‘Excuse spider’.
According to media outlet Xinhua, Mi Xiaoqi and his fellow researchers Wang Cheng and Li Shuqiang, have been ardent fans of Jay Chou fan since their undergraduate days. “Naming spiders after Jay Chou’s songs brings scientific research closer to the public. I hope more people will pay attention to scientific research and support ecological protection,” the researcher told the outlet.
He also revealed that such a naming strategy was chosen, as in the past, some of his previous discoveries were named based on the animal’s morphological features, and those ended up coinciding with other authors. Mi Xiaoqi expressed that since then he has been very careful about naming spiders. As many of his peers rely on morphological characteristics for names, this time, he chose a different approach to avoid repetitions! Now his choice has grabbed the attention of people outside the field of science as well. Thanks to the Jay Chou and the internet!
Meanwhile, this is not the first time Chou’s name has been used for scientific discoveries. Astronomers in Taiwan named an asteroid after the singer in 2011.
