Dec 26, 2007

A Pat on the Back

Would Shelob have been more or less scary colored like this leaf spider? I'm guessing less, but the image of Sam driving Sting into that neon-yellow abdomen is intriguing.

The next time you come across a bonafide spider expert (some of them are readers and commenters on this blog), be sure to give them a pat on the back. There are more than 37,000 species of identified spiders, with estimates that the number is twice that. There far fewer species of mammals (less than 5,000 catalogued) than spiders. That makes for a lot of Latin names to know, spinnerettes to identify, and venoms and urticating hairs to endure (not to mention webs and heebie-jeebies).

Photo source: Photo Freak

4 comments:

Jade said...

Yeah. It really is a lot to remember. That's half the fun, though. :)

Arachnophile said...

LOL!

Shelob = BEST VILLAN EVAH!

...Except maybe for her mother whose name was evan SUCKIER to remember: Ungoliant. Any spider that can suck the life-light out of the trees representing the lights of both day and night, wins, legs-down. ;)

Any invert lover who didn't secretly love the Shelob scenes fron the books or the Movie have to give their heads a shake. IMHO. ;-p

Arachnophile said...

SERIOUSLY, no one else is going to comment on this amazing photo!

Egad!

Nonexistant Black Feather said...

<3 shelob. i was a bit confused at the end of the second movie when they left it out. and then shoved it in the beginning of the third movie. but that's what they do to movies made from books. i should know this by now.