--- title: Daddy Longlegs Named After Smeagol From 'Lord of the Rings' description: A newly discovered eyeless species of daddy longlegs has been named after Smeagol, the Lord of the Rings character. canonical: https://time.com/4120288/eyeless-daddy-longlegs-smeagol/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-19T16:14:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T12:46:32.331Z article:section: Science og:title: Eyeless Daddy Longlegs Named For 'Lord of the Rings' Character og:description: You probably better know the character by "Gollum" og:url: https://time.com/4120288/eyeless-daddy-longlegs-smeagol/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1b92e5aee42023c3/698871e80a4a22a10e9c7235/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-return-of-the-king-gollum.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2480 og:image:height: 1395 og:image:alt: Gollum og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Eyeless Daddy Longlegs Named For 'Lord of the Rings' Character twitter:description: You probably better know the character by "Gollum" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1b92e5aee42023c3/698871e80a4a22a10e9c7235/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-return-of-the-king-gollum.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Eyeless Daddy Longlegs Named After _Lord of the Rings_ Character > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Nov 19, 2015 4:14 PM UTC  An image of Gollum from 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' An image of Gollum from 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' New Line Cinema  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Nov 19, 2015 4:14 PM UTC A newly discovered eyeless species of daddy longlegs has been named after Smeagol, the _Lord of the Rings_ character also known as Gollum. The arachnid, fully named _Iandumoema smeagol,_ was discovered in a humid cave in Brazil, [UPI reports](http://www.upi.com/Science%5FNews/2015/11/18/New-eyeless-harvestman-species-named-for-Tolkiens-Smeagol/6641447874723/). It never leaves the darkness, and is one of only two harvestmen species that do not have eyes. Like its namesake character Smeagol, the new daddy longlegs is pale in color and prefers living in underground caves with water present. In a [ZooKeys report](http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=6073) detailing the new species, it says it “is vulnerable and it must be considered in future conservation projects.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4120288/eyeless-daddy-longlegs-smeagol/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4120288/eyeless-daddy-longlegs-smeagol/"},"headline":"Eyeless Daddy Longlegs Named After Lord of the Rings Character","datePublished":"2015-11-19T16:14:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:46:32.331Z","description":"You probably better know the character by \"Gollum\"","url":"https://time.com/4120288/eyeless-daddy-longlegs-smeagol/","keywords":["animals","nature","Species","Lord of the Rings"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1b92e5aee42023c3/698871e80a4a22a10e9c7235/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-return-of-the-king-gollum.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1b92e5aee42023c3/698871e80a4a22a10e9c7235/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-return-of-the-king-gollum.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Gollum","caption":"Gollum","creditText":"New Line Cinema","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4120288/eyeless-daddy-longlegs-smeagol/","name":"Eyeless Daddy Longlegs Named After Lord of the Rings Character"}}]}] ```