New species of millipede named after Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift now has a species of millipede named after her.

Scientists from Virginia Tech discovered the species, along with 16 others, after five years of research, according to their new paper, which was recently published in the ZooKeys journal.

Entomologist and myriapodologist Dr. Derek Hennen named a millipede species, discovered in the U.S. state of Tennessee, Nannaria swiftae, or Swift Twisted-Claw Millipede.

When Swift was a teenager, she and her family relocated from Pennsylvania to Tennessee to help her pursue a country music career.

Hennen shared the results of his team’s study on Twitter on Saturday, noting he is a big fan of the pop artist.

“I wanted to show my appreciation by naming this new species from Tennessee after her,” Hennen wrote. “A high honour!”

The researcher elaborated in a Rolling Stone interview, saying, “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.”

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Written by Mr. Nimbus