Jeff Daniels now has a tarantula-killing worm named after him
CTV
If you think you know who Jeff Daniels is, think again. You might be thinking of the Hollywood actor -- but there's now a tarantula-killing worm with a very similar name.
The worm -- named taranobelus jeffdanielsi -- was discovered by scientists at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and is one of more than 25,000 nematode species, but only the second one found to infect tarantulas.
Researchers decided to name the worm after Daniels as a nod to his role as Dr. Ross Jennings in the 1990 film "Arachnophobia," in which his character saves a Californian town from a spider infestation.
"When I first heard a new species of nematode had been named after me, I thought, 'Why? Is there a resemblance?'" Daniels said in a press release published by UCR Tuesday.
"Honestly, I was honored by their homage to me and Arachnophobia. Made me smile," he added. "And of course, in Hollywood, you haven't really made it until you've been recognized by those in the field of parasitology."
