Taylor Swift received numerous music awards and even an Emmy. Now the popular American singer-songwriter can add an unusual twist achievement to its growing list of honors – a new species of millipede named after him. The Nannaria Swiftae (N. Swiftae) is one of 17 new species of twist-clawed millipedes recently identified by Dr. Derek Hennen and his team at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
“I’m a big fan of his music, so I wanted to show my appreciation giving its name to this new species from Tennessee. A great honor!” Hennen tweeted.
The discovery was part of a multi-year research project to find and analyze centipede species gender Nannaria. They were among 1,835 centipede specimens found by the team during their multi-year search across 13 biodiversity states. Appalachians Mountain region. While some of the newly revealed twisted-claw species had already been collected, they were not identified until the recent study, published in the journal Zoo Keys April 15, 2022.
The N.Swiftae has red-orange spots, a maroon-brown body, and distinguish bumps on his paws. Hennen said the crawling “handsome” belongs to a group called cherry centipedes. The arthropods release a chemical defense against predators that smell of cherry or almond. “It’s a powerful defense against predators but is harmless to humans,” he added.
The centipede species has only been found in Tennessee – where Swift began her career as a country singer. Therefore, naming it after the artist made perfect sense. The entomologist called another species Nannaria marianae in honor of his wife, Marian. The rest of the new species were named after plants or areas where the specimens had been found.
Although they may seem scary to some, centipedes are important to our ecosystem. They consume to decompose plant matter and rejection nutrients that enrich the soil. Harmless creatures are efficient diggers and spend most of their lives clandestinely. When threatens, they release chemicals toxins this deter but don’t kill one potential predator.
Swift is not the first celebrity that an animal species bears his name. In 2020, a new species of poisonous snake found in the Gulf of Guinea was named Atheris hetfieldi, after Metallica singer James Hetfield. American music performer Lady Gaga has received acknowledgement in the form of a new species of leafhopper insect double Kaikaia gaga,
Resources: zookeys.pensoft.net, npr.org, livescience.com
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