Researchers at UC Davis, have found one particular trapdoor spider, Aptostichus stephencolberti (the "t" is silent 🤫), which is about the size of a quarter, is big in another way: It has an outsized genome. Given comedian Stephen Colbert’s (colbert) pompous pundit persona in the former Comedy Central show “The Colbert Report,” it seems fitting that a spider named for him would have a genome roughly 50% larger than the human genome. In 2008, Colbert learned that corresponding author Jason Bond, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, had named a trapdoor spider after rock musician Neil Young and developed a bit of spider envy. He used his segment, “Who’s Not Honoring Me Now?” on “The Colbert Report” to demand a spider be named after him. Bond obliged. Read more about the spider by visiting ucdav.is/4zg6VK0 or clicking on this post's thumbnail in our profile link. #UCDavis Image description: A close-up of a trapdoor spider with a white and dar...