The 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.
The species is named for Sisyphus, a king featured in the Iliad, 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.
These dudes are on a whole different level when it comes to naming spiders.
The rest of the wikipedia article:
These dudes are on a whole different level when it comes to naming spiders.
And now I want to know the deep meaning behind all of those Chinese knockoff tee shirts that I thought were just poorly translated.
Believe it or not, they’re all about Hot Wheels.
Even the ones about Sisyphus?
Especially those ones