A German specialist has found a new Malaysian species of arachnid and linked it to the rock star as part of efforts to raise awareness

David Bowie has received one of the most unusual tributes of his career. A newly discovered Malaysian spider has been named after the rock star.

The giant yellow – and very hairy – spider has been named Heteropoda davidbowie and is the most recent discovery of German spider specialist Peter Jäger, who has found 200 new species in the past 10 years.

Most of these arachnids are endangered, and by naming spiders after celebrities Jäger hopes to attract public attention to the dangers facing each species. "It is working against time," he says. "Along with the species, we are also quickly losing genetic resources that have evolved over more than 300 million years."

Bowie – whose album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was a major hit in 1972 – shares the honour of having a spider named after him with Jakob von Uexkull, founder of the Right Livelihood Award, which honours those working on solutions to global problems, and Nina Hagen, a German punk singer.