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The Brazilian scientists who named new spider species after a character from J R R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings had to face mockery by Stephen Colbert for making a wrong reference. This week, a new specie of spider was identified and given the name of landumoema smeagol, as a reference to the famed hobbit named Smeagol who became Gollum after getting hold of the ring, as reported by the Daily Times Gazette.

The spider was given the same name as the character as they both shared the same lifestyle, living in a cave and staying away from the sun till he morphed into a hideous Gollum. Colbert, however, on his show on Friday said, "Smeagol wasn't a scary creature who lived in a cave". He explained that he killed his cousin after he found the One Ring. He added, "Smeagol hid from his guilt and the yellow face of the sun, by retreating into a cave, where his shame and his fear turned him into an unrecognizable creature. That creature wasn't Smeagol anymore; that creature was Gollum. You should have named the spider Gollum. You don't discover a venomous snake and name it Anakin. You name it Darth Vader", reports Entertainment Weekly.

According to Gospel Herald Entertainment, Colbert loves the Lord of the Rings and was mortified by the wrong reference. He pointed out that the scientists should have named the spider after another spider in The Lord of the Rings, Shelob, who appears at the end of the fourth book. This spider was closer to the character description of the spider that the scientists found. The host said, "I thought you guys were scientists, this is sad."