A team of scientists from Virginia Tech have been hard at work confirming suspicions that there are more species of millipedes than originally tracked.
After confirming 16 new species, the researchers also revealed one species would be named Nannaria swiftae in honor of Taylor Swift.
Derek Hennen, the lead author of the project is the one responsible for the odd, yet charming honor and it comes from a place of nothing but love, admiration and and respect for Swift’s music.
This new millipede species is Nannaria swiftae: I named it after @taylorswift13! I'm a big fan of her music, so I wanted to show my appreciation by naming this new species from Tennessee after her. A high honor! pic.twitter.com/fXml3xX5Vs
— Derek Hennen, Ph.D. (@derekhennen) April 15, 2022
“Her music helped me get through the highs and lows of graduate school, so naming a new millipede species after her is my way of saying thanks,” Hennen shared, according to phys.org. Seems appropriate.
For reference, Hennen also named another recently discovered species after his wife, so it clearly comes from a place of love.
And with all those new species come new names! I had fun figuring out names for these species; here's one that I named after my wife: Nannaria marianae! A small thank-you for all her patience when we're taking a nature hike and I stop to look for millipedes. pic.twitter.com/3VHjwXQx7e
— Derek Hennen, Ph.D. (@derekhennen) April 15, 2022
According to a tweet from Hennen, Nannaria swiftae are native to Tennessee, which clearly aided in the decision to name it after Swift. Anyone wonder what the 32-year-old has to say about this? Maybe it’ll inspire a future song.
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