Scientist names new millipede species after Taylor Swift

Romar Fernando

April 19, 2022

• A new species of millipede from the Appalachian Mountains in the northeastern portion of the United States of America has been named after the pop star Taylor Swift, April 16, Saturday.

  The Swift Twisted-Claw Millipede or ‘Nannaria swiftae’ is one of the various new species of millipede named by Virginia Tech scientists Derek Hennen, Jackson Means, and Paul Marek. Hennen, the study’s lead scientist, is an avowed Swiftie himself and selected the name.

  BIG NEWS! Our new paper describing 17 new species of Twisted-Claw Millipedes from Appalachia is published! I spent 5 years of my life searching for them with @Nannaria1 and @apheloria. I named a new species after my wife, and another after @taylorswift13! https://t.co/QXRT6gk1Px pic.twitter.com/kL4T56P4Qd

  — Derek Hennen, Ph.D. (@derekhennen) April 15, 2022

  “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!” Hennen tweeted.

  “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,” he added.

  Along with naming one of the 16 species after Swift, Hennen — good husband that he is — also named one of the other new millipedes, ‘Nannaria marianae,’ after his wife.

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