Tarantulas are forced to tiptoe by a parasitic worm before being starved to death.

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The researchers gave the parasite the name Jeff Daniels as a tribute to American actor Jeff Daniels. It was an honor for him.

As it turns out, scientists have discovered a new tarantula-eating parasite: the tarantula worm.

According to a new study published on January 17 in The Journal of Parasitology, the worms first emerge as white splotches around the mouth of a tarantula. The arachnid host stops feeding after it becomes infected and loses control of its appendages that control its teeth. According to the study's authors, other unusual habits, such as walking on tiptoes, have been observed in infected tarantulas.

It's only a matter of time till you're on the verge of death.

In a statement, study co-author Adler Dillman, a parasitologist at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), explained that "it may take months because tarantulas don't have to eat especially often." They will starve to death if they contract the virus, however.

In 2018, a wholesale tarantula breeder reported many unexpected deaths among his stock, which prompted Dillman and his colleagues to investigate the killer worms. An odd white discharge emanated from the lips of each of the afflicted tarantulas. "This wasn't spidered spit-up," Dillman figured out: Nematodes, worms that live in the spiders' fly-holes and wreak havoc.

As Dillman explained, "Nematodes have been around for hundreds of millions of years and have evolved to infect every form of the host on the earth," including humans. "There is a nematode that can infect any species you can think of on the earth."

Dillman said that even though more than 25,000 different nematode species have been identified, this is the only one that has been found to infect tarantulas. A unique chance arose for his laboratory to study the secretive, spider-hunting worms.

Researchers discovered that lab-grown nematodes were predominantly hermaphrodites, which allowed them to self-fertilize their offspring. Each hermaphroditic nematode generated an average of 160 progeny throughout its lifespan, measured in laboratory time at 11 days. (The researchers highlighted that it is uncertain how the worm's lifespan may change when residing on a tarantula.)

While the nematodes invaded the spider's mouth area, the remainder of the spider was left completely unaffected.

Still, the researchers decided to name the newly discovered worm Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi, after American actor Jeff Daniels, because of the worm's spider-killing skill.

"In the beginning, I was perplexed as to why this new nematode species had been named after me. Does anything look familiar?'" Jokingly, Daniels told UCR.

"Arachnophobia" refers to Daniels' main role in the 1990 comedic thriller in which he protects a small community from an infestation of poisonous spiders.

Arachnophobia and Daniels were "honored" by the tributes, he said. It's a given that in Hollywood, you are only considered a success if parasitologists recognize your work.

Reference: https://www.livescience.com/tarantula-killing-nematode-jeff-daniels

Image source : https://pixabay.com/id/vectors/laba-laba-web-jaring-laba-laba-311082/

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