A new species of millipede has been named in honor of pop superstar Taylor Swift.

The twisted-claw millipede Nannaria swiftae joins 16 other new species described from the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. The little-known invertebrates have a valuable role as decomposers.

Scientists Derek Hennen, Jackson Means, and Paul Marek, at Virginia Tech, describe the new species in a research paper published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

The lead author of the study, Hennen, is a fan of Taylor Swift.

“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 says.

Another new species, Nannaria marianae, was named after Hennen’s wife.

“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 said in a Twitter post.

(Photo: Dr. Derek Hennen)

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