See the incredible millipede with 1,306 legs 1:10
(CNN) --
Taylor Swift has countless Grammys and American Music Awards, but this new honor will be a first for the global pop star.
A newly discovered species of millipede has been named after Swift, according to a study published in the academic journal ZooKeys.
It is called
Nannaria swiftae
, or Swift's twisted-clawed millipede.
The lead author of the study, Derek Hennen, is a "Swiftie" (a fan of the singer) and wanted to honor her.
At the time of the investigation he was a doctoral candidate at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg.
"His music has gotten me through tough times, and it's kind of a thank you for the joy his music has brought me," Hennen said.
Hennen found the Appalachian millipede at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Spencer, Tennessee, the same state Swift moved to as a teenager to pursue her singing career.
An entomologist has named a new species of millipede Nannaria swiftae after pop star Taylor Swift.
If Swift learns the name, Hennen hopes she'll be happy and use it to learn more about the millipede.
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"For a scientist, it's an honor to name a species after someone, so I hope she sees it positively," he said.
It's a "pretty" chestnut-brown millipede with reddish-orange spots on the sides, Hennen said.
Paul Marek, an associate professor in the department of entomology at Virginia Tech and a formal Jackson Means Ph.D. candidate at Virginia Tech, traveled with Hennen through 17 states from 2015 to 2019 and found 17 new species of millipedes.
"It's funny because when I started, it was like 'Wow! A new species,' but after we'd been at this for a couple of years, it's like 'We've got another new species of millipedes, throw it in the heap,'" Hennen said.
First true millipede discovered in Australia.
It is the living animal with the largest number of legs.
Millipedes are one of the lesser-known creatures because they aren't as flashy as butterflies or dragonflies, which is why so many new species are being discovered, he said.
These insects prefer wild habitats and are important in the nutrient cycling process, Hennen said.
Millipedes act as "leaf recyclers," eating dead plants and defecating, thereby fertilizing the soil, she explained.
Another special millipede
Swift isn't the only person chosen by Hennen to name a new millipede.
Hennen named another new species, Nannaria marianae, also known as the Maple Flats clawed millipedes, after his wife, Marian.
On their walks together, his wife waited patiently as Hennen searched for millipedes, which happened on almost every outing, he said.
"She was by my side the whole time I was working on my Ph.D. and gave me a lot of love and support, and this is my way of showing my love and support to her," Hennen said.
Hall of Fame
Other celebrities have had an animal or plant named after them:
RuPaul has a rainbow-colored fly, the
Opaluma rupaul
, in his honor.
A bee fly found in Australia has been named
Paramonovius nightking
, after the Night King from "Game of Thrones."
Leonardo DiCaprio gave his name to a tree,
Uvariopsis dicaprio
, for his conservation efforts.
In addition, Australian scientists have named several new species after Marvel characters, including a reference to Thor: the scientific name for the fly species
Daptolestes bronteflavus
, whose second word translates to "blond thunder."
Many other animals are named after celebrities like Dolly Parton and Lady Gaga.
A lichen is named after Parton,
Japewiella dollypartoniana
, and Gaga has an entire genus of plants called
monstraparva
, also known by its DNA sequence, GAGA.
Taylor Swift