Tom Hardy and his Marvel character Venom have given their names to a newly-discovered Australian spider. The genus Venomius and its only current species Venomius tomhardyi were described following an expedition to Tasmania.

The genus belongs to the Araneidae family of spiders that build upright circular webs to capture prey.

The holotype of the new species was discovered and subsequently preserved at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery following an expedition to Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

Regarding the bigger picture of the study, Dr. Pedro Castanheira said, “This is part of a long-term research that aims to document the entire Australian spider fauna, which will be of extreme importance for conservation management plans and the continuation of the decadal plan for taxonomy and biosystematics in Australia and New Zealand.”