Have a species of spider named after you

12/07/2007 00:00:00 The Queensland Museum of Australia have come up with a novel way of fund raising while giving you the chance of immortality, of a kind. For AU$5000 (£2060 approx) you get to choose the name of a newly discovered species of spider.

This unusual fundraising scheme aims to raise funds to assist the Museum’s world class scientific researchers. Very few people nowadays get the chance to name a new species, though Harrison Ford and Sting both have insects named after them! The Bank of Queensland were one of the first to join the scheme, with the now romantically named 'Bank of Queensland' spider, a new species of Ant spider otherwise known as Habronestes boq. The process can take up to a year, but once you have paid your money, you will receive a certificate containing a detailed illustration of your spider, together with scientific data about the species. Within roughly the next 12 months your spider will appear on the Worldwide Database of Spiders and there it will stay, in perpetuity.

It does help if you can visit the museum in Queensland to choose your spider and you will meet the Museum’s world-renowned arachnologist, Dr Robert Raven.

For further details, go to www.nameaspider.com