Arachnophobia’s Jeff Daniels Gets A Spider-Killing Worm Named After Him

Arachnophobia star Jeff Daniels has had a newly-discovered tarantula-killing worm named in his honor by researchers at the University of California, Riverside. The 1990 thriller/comedy, which also stars John Goodman in a memorable performance as the local exterminator, sees Daniels’ Dr. Ross Jennings fighting to save a small California town from an invasion of highly-aggressive venomous spiders. The movie was a moderate success at the time of its release and has since garnered somewhat of a cult following.

In the film, Daniels’ Jennings relocates from San Francisco to take over the town practice of a retiring doctor in the sleepy Canaima, California. Thanks to a traumatic incident when he was a child, Daniels’ character has a crippling fear of spiders, which is unfortunate, considering a swarm of deadly arachnids is laying siege on the town. He’s forced to overcome his fears to get to the source of the town’s eight-legged tormentors. As Jennings, Daniels kills plenty of spiders throughout the movie, and now the actor has an aptly-named parasite dedicated to him.

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Thanks to scientists at the University of California, Riverside, a newly discovered species of tarantula-killing worms will carry on the Newsroom actor’s spider-battling legacy forever. “Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi,” a newly-discovered species of nematode worm that scientists have found can infect and kill tarantulas has been named after the actor to memorialize his role in the movie. “His character in the film is a spider killer, which is exactly what these nematodes are,” said UC Riverside parasitologist Adler Dillman, who headed up the team that discovered the parasitic worm. Responding to the news, Daniels joked that he might share a resemblance with the worm before saying he was honored by the tribute to himself and the film. Check out his full comments here:

“When I first heard a new species of nematode had been named after me, I thought, ‘Why? Is there a resemblance?’ Honestly, I was honored by their homage to me and Arachnophobia. Made me smile. And of course, in Hollywood, you haven’t really made it until you’ve been recognized by those in the field of parasitology.”

One of his early starring roles in film, Arachnophobia would help to set Daniels up as a bona fide movie star, with the actor going on to make other early ’90s classics like Speed and Dumb and Dumber. In 2018, it was reported that James Wan was rebooting Arachnophobia, but little has been heard about the project since. Wan is now entrenched in the world of DC and Aquaman, so it’s unlikely he’ll have time to return to that gestating project soon.

Either way, it’s clear that Arachnophobia still has a fanbase. It’s been 32 years since the film’s release and it’s still being shown love. Thanks to this new worm, the movie has officially landed a place in scientific history. Jeff Daniels’ battle with spiders may have been won three decades ago, but his namesake worm will keep the fight going forever.

Source: University of California, Riverside

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