No animal is more deserving of being named after COVID-19 than the flatworm, which is known for feeding on biodiversity in soil and threatening the world's dirt. Now a new species of flatworm will bear the honor.
The worm in question is black with a hammer-head and slick metallic-looking body measuring in at a little over an inch long.
Scientists have decided to name the new species of the animal Humbertium covidum. The worms have been found in France and Italy, but they may also be in China, Russia, and Japan.
The researchers shared in an article in the journal PeerJ that they are not sure where the flatworm originated, which is a common issue with the animal, as it is believed that they transfer continents through global plant trades.
Scientists warned in their article that the worm has the potential to become invasive.
The pandemic enabled the research of the animal, and scientists gave a nod to that by naming it after COVID-19, according to National Museum of National History in Paris professor Jean-Lou Justine.
"Due to the pandemic, during the lockdowns most of us were home, with our laboratory closed," Justine said in a news release. "No field expeditions were possible. I convinced my colleagues to gather all the information we had about these flatworms, do the computer analyses, and finally write this very long paper."
The worm's name was also an effort to honor those who have lost their lives during the pandemic, Justine shared.
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