Roddenberryus is a genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Caponiidae, first described by Alexander Sánchez-Ruiz & Alexandre B. Bonaldo in 2023.[1]

Roddenberryus
Roddenberryus sargi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Caponiidae
Genus: Roddenberryus
Sánchez-Ruiz - Bonaldo, 2023
Type species
R. kirk
Sánchez-Ruiz & Bonaldo, 2023
Species

5, see text

The genus was named after Gene Roddenberry, creator of the "Star Trek" franchise, "that inspired generations of kids to pursue scientific careers".[2]

Three newly discovered species were named after characters from "Star Trek: The Original Series", created by Roddenberry: Roddenberryus kirk (named after James T. Kirk); R. mccoy (named after Leonard McCoy); and R. spock (named after Spock).[1]

Species

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As of September 2023 it contains five species:[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Sánchez-Ruiz & Bonaldo (2023). "Strange new spiders: on Roddenberryus, a new and unusual caponiid genus (Araneae, Caponiidae)". European Journal of Taxonomy (891): 1–25. doi:10.5852/ejt.2023.891.2263. S2CID 261591997.
  2. ^ Hauser, Christine (2023-09-13). "It's a Spider, Not a Doctor, Captain or Vulcan". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-16.