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Named After Nemo
JOSEPH SCHUBERT/MUSEUMS VICTORIA (SPIDER); MOVIESTORE COLLECTION LTD/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (FINDING NEMO)
BRIGHT AND COLORFUL: Peacock spiders are known for their vivid coloring. This orange-and-white-striped specimen got its name from one of the lead characters of the Disney movie Finding Nemo.
Citizen scientist Sheryl Holliday was photographing orchids in a swamp in Australia when an orange-and-white spider caught her eye. She snapped a photo of the tiny creature and posted it online. Joseph Schubert, an arachnologist—a scientist who studies spiders—at Australia’s Museums Victoria, saw the picture. He realized it might be a never-before-seen type of peacock spider.
Holliday sent specimens to Schubert, who confirmed the spider was a brand-new species. Schubert named the spider Maratus nemo, after the similarly colored clownfish from the Disney movie Finding Nemo. “It feels so special to be the first person to see this spider out in the wild,” says Holliday.