Hotwheels sisyphus is a species of Chinese ground spiders (family Gnaphosidae). It is the only species in the genus Hotwheels.[1] It was first described by Bo Liu and Feng Zhang, both from Hebei University, in 2024,[2] and has only been found in China.[1]
| Hotwheels sisyphus | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Gnaphosidae |
| Genus: | Hotwheels Liu & Zhang, 2024[1] |
| Species: | H. sisyphus
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| Binomial name | |
| Hotwheels sisyphus Liu & Zhang, 2024[1]
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Etymology
editThe genus name is derived from Hot Wheels, an American brand of scale model cars. The long coiled embolus of the palpal bulb of this new genus reminded the authors of a looping Hot Wheels track. [2] The genus name is likely satirical.
The species is named for Sisyphus, a king from Greek mythology, who is punished by the gods for cheating death. For this, the gods sentenced him to an eternity of rolling a boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back down. The cyclical nature of his punishment reminded the authors of the circular copulatory tube of the spider.[2] There is a 2nd meaning in this naming, however; female Sisyphus' copulatory tubes evolved in this way due to a reproductive arms race between the male and female members of the species, the females growing longer and more winding tubes while the males grow longer and more winding corresponding appendages, an eternal task, akin to that of Sisyphus.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Gen. Hotwheels Liu & Zhang, 2024". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
- ^ a b c Liu, Bo (2024). "Hotwheels gen. nov., a new ground spider genus (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) from southwest China". ZooKeys (1189): 337–347. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1189.115996. PMC 10836147. PMID 38314110. Retrieved 2024-01-24.