Species Of Millipede Named In Honor Of Taylor Swift

In a crossover you wouldn’t usually expect, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is being honored as the namesake of a newly-discovered species of millipede. The millipede was named Nannaria Swiftae because it was discovered in Tennessee, where Swift moved at the age of 14 and got her first start in music.

The naming was announced by the study’s lead author, Derek Hennen, who told Phys.org that Swift’s music “got me through the highs and lows of graduate school.” Another of the 17 millipede species discovered around the Appalachian Mountains, Nannaria marianae, was named after his wife. Hennen also collaborated with Jackson Means and Paul Marek and was supported by Virginia Tech in the research study.

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

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Despite having 11 Grammy Awards and several bestselling albums to her name, this is surely a lifetime achievement for Swift. She’s not the only pop culture icon to get a shoutout in some oddly-specific animals discovered lately. There’s Agra Katewinsletae, a species of beetle named after Kate Winslet, Scapia beyonceae, an Australian horse fly named after Beyoncé, and even Gnathia marleyi, a tiny parasite named after the legendary Bob Marley.