''Aphonopelma johnnycashi'' is a species of

tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although m ...

(family

Theraphosidae Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although m ...

). It was found in 2015 near

Folsom Prison Folsom State Prison (FSP) is a California State Prison in Folsom, California, U.S., approximately northeast of the state capital of Sacramento, California, Sacramento. It is one of 34 adult institutions operated by the California Department of ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and named after Johnny Cash, whose song "

Folsom Prison Blues "Folsom Prison Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. Written in 1953, it was first recorded in 1955 for his debut studio album '' Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!'' (1957), appearing as the album's eleventh track. T ...

" made the prison famous. Mature males are generally black, and the country music singer was also known as "The Man in Black".

Natural history

This spider can be up to long, the male of the species is black and the female is a dark brown. Like most North American tarantulas, they are relatively harmless to humans, unlikely to bite and with venom only mildly irritating. The new categorization of this spider is part of an effort to more carefully catalog American tarantula species. For decades there has been a suspicion that there are more species than identified, but that they are similar enough to be overlooked. The new effort has broken them down according to behavior and observable traits, though there has not been genetic testing done to truly ascertain where the species lines are drawn.

References

johnnycashi Endemic fauna of California Spiders of the United States Spiders described in 2016 Fauna without expected TNC conservation status {{Theraphosidae-stub