Sachin Tendulkar is now Spiderman!
Dhruv Prajapati, a junior researcher with the Gujarat Ecological Education & Research (GEER) Foundation, pursuing a PhD in spider taxonomy, discovered two new species of spiders.
Published : Nov 12, 2019 19:08 IST
The days of Spiderman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe might be over, but Indian cricket already has its alternative of the friendly, neighbourhood superhero.
In a country where cricket is seen as a religion and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar is worshipped like a god, it might not come as a surprise that a newly discovered species of spider has been named after the Master Blaster: Marengo sachintendulkar .
Dhruv Prajapati, a junior researcher with the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation, pursuing a PhD in spider taxonomy, discovered two new species of the arthropod and after naming one after Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara, who played a key role in creating awareness on education in Kerala, he did not hesitate to name the other after his favourite cricketer.
Speaking to The Times of India, Prajapati had said that the two new species are a part of the Indomarengo and Marengo genus of Asian jumping spiders.
The findings of his study were published in the September issue of a Russian journal titled Arthropoda Selecta .