Taylor Swift: Singer has millipede named after her
- Published
Take a look at this tiny millipede which has been named after pop star Taylor Swift. The Nannaria swiftae species has been recently discovered by scientist Derek Hennen and he is a huge Swiftie. Hennen said "I'm a big fan of her music so I wanted to show my appreciation by naming this new species from Tennessee after her." Maybe this wiggly millipede will inspire a new song for Taylor...
This lucky frog has been named after environmental campaigner, Greta Thunberg. The new species, Pristimantis gretathunbergae, was discovered in Panama. In 2018, the Rainforest Trust auctioned off naming rights for some newly scientifically identified species for the organization's 30th anniversary. An auction winner decided to name this new rainfrog species in honour of Greta Thunberg and her work tackling climate change.
This beautiful butterfly was named Euptychia attenboroughi in honour of Sir David Attenborough, who has a huge love of butterflies. They live in tropical forests in places like Colombia and Brazil and are very, very rare. This isn't the only animal named after Sir Attenborough. There are actually a number of creatures bearing his famous name.
A treehopper species has been named after Lady Gaga because of its "flamboyant" style! It's now known as Kaikaia Gaga thanks to Brendan Morris who's a student at the University of Illinois in America. He said: “If there is going to be a Lady Gaga bug, it’s going to be a treehopper, because they’ve got these crazy horns, they have this wacky fashion sense about them...They’re unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.” Treehoppers suck on plant juices and sing to each other by vibrating plant stems. We wonder if any of their 'songs' sound like Lady Gaga's!
You will most probably recognise the man on the left as Sith Lord, Darth Vader but don't worry if you can't name the beetle next to him. It is in fact a slime beetle called Agathidium vaderi. The slime beetle was named by scientists Kelly B Miller and Quentin D Wheeler because its "broad, shiny, helmet-like head" reminded them of the Star Wars villain. Easy to see why!
Now, this is the Beyoncé fly, aka the Scaptia beyonceae, a rare species of horse fly that lives in Queensland, Australia. So this isn't just one animal named after the star...but a whole species! Sadly it can’t sing Crazy in Love like she can, but inspired by one of her outfits, scientist Bryan Lessard said it was the “unique dense golden hairs on the fly’s abdomen that led me to name this fly in honour of the performer”.
A giant cricket was named after New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern in March 2021. The species has been called Hemiandrus jacinda apparently because of its red colouring, which is similar to the official colour of Ms Ardern's political party, Labour. It is the fourth insect to be named in her honour.
They might not look the same but a wasp species, discovered in Mexico, has been named after Marvel actor Idris Elba. Scientists say the insect was found to use the eggs of the stink bug, the bagrada bug, to survive and so its discovery is an important step developing ways of controlling the pest!
Former US President Donald Trump has a moth-lookalike and scientists have named it after him. The moth was discovered by scientist Dr Vazrick Nazari when they were looking at a collection of moths from the Museum of Entomology, at the University of California in America, and was named Neopalpa donaldtrumpi. The scientist said the moth's bright blonde scales and unique hairdo reminded them of Donald Trump.
Barack Obama was the US President before Donald Trump and he also has an animal named after him! It was to honour his conservation work in the Pacific when scientists named a maroon and gold fish Tosanoides Obama, after him. It was found off Kure Atoll at the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument near Hawaii.
Prince Charles is famous for being the Queen's son, but also for his work to help protect rainforests around the world! To honour him, a species of tree frog was named after him. Hyloscirtus princecharlesi, or the Prince Charles stream tree frog, was first discovered by Dr Luis A Coloma in 2008 among specimens collected from Cotacachi-Cayapas National Park, Ecuador for a museum.
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