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The "Star Wars" universe looms large in the imaginations of generations
of moviegoers. Die-hard fans show their devotion in many ways: Some
line up for days to catch the movies' very first screenings, some dress
in lovingly detailed and painstakingly designed costumes, and others
incorporate movie memorabilia into their daily wardrobe and home
decoration.
But some devoted "
Star Wars"
fans who also happen to be scientists go one step further, sharing
their appreciation for the iconic movie series by giving its characters'
names to newly discovered species.
Species' scientific names are in Latin and have two parts. Take our own scientific name,
Homo sapiens, for example — the first part of the name,
Homo, describes our genus, a grouping that includes our closest relatives. We share the
Homo part of our scientific name with a number of early human species, including Neanderthals, or
Homo neanderthalensis. [
The 7 Most Misleading Animal Names]
The second part,
sapiens, is specific to our species. When
researchers find a new form of life, how they name it depends on what is
already known about similar species. If it shares enough traits with a
known genus, the scientist who discovered the new species starts there,
selecting a species name that can reflect anything from the new species'
looks to
the scientist's favorite celebrity.
Though the process of naming a species has to follow certain rules,
there's also room for adding a personal touch — or even a whimsical one.
These "Star Wars"-inspired examples are the species you've been looking
for.
All hail the queen
Impressive skull appendages in an extinct relative of the giraffe
reminded paleontologists of Queen Padmé Amidala's swooping headgear in
"The Phantom Menace," leading them to name their discovery
Xenokeryx amidalae. Described in 2015 in the journal
PLOS ONE,
X. amidalae
sports two ossicones — short horns like a giraffe's — and a sloping
brow that rises steeply toward the back of its head. The slope is capped
by a T-shaped structure that would look positively regal wrapped in a
giant hairpiece and gilded with gold leaf. Image credit: Illustration by
Israel M. Sánchez
Chewbacca moth
In 2009, scientists named a new species of moth after "the very large
and hairy Wookiee character in the Star Wars movie series," they wrote
in their paper in the journal
Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington describing the discovery. Found in dry forests in western Mexico, the gray
Wockia chewbacca
is significantly smaller than its hirsute namesake. It does, however,
appear to be quite fuzzy — if not quite a "walking carpet." Image
credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Jedi ant
The Force is strong with
Tetramorium jedi, an ant species that inhabits the lowland rainforests of Madagascar. The species was described in 2012 in the journal
Zootaxa:
"This new species is named after the fictional, noble, and wise
guardians of peace from the 'Star Wars' universe created by George
Lucas," the study's authors wrote in their paper. Image credit: Shannon
Hartman / www.antweb.org
Sarlacc spider
Named for the fearsome, predatory desert creature inhabiting a Tatooine
desert pit (and having a taste for fresh Jedi), the California trapdoor
spider
Aptostichus sarlacc was first described in the journal
ZooKeys in 2012 as one of 33 new species in the
Aptostichus genus. While
A. sarlacc
was the only one to get a "Star Wars"-inspired name, other species also
described in the paper were named for magician Penn Gillette,
photographer Dorothea Lange and President
Barack Obama. Image credit: Jason Bond
Darth Vader mite
In 1996, findings published by the
Australian Museum in Sydney added a new genus to a family of tree mites from eastern Australia, giving them the mite-y name
Darthvaderum. A
highly magnified scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of the mite's
head reminded study author Glenn Hunt of the Dark Lord. "When I saw the
SEM of the gnathosoma [a mite's mouth and feeding parts], I immediately
thought of Darth Vader, evil antihero of Star Wars," Hunt wrote in the
study. Image credit: Glenn Hunt
Yoda acorn worm
Scientists described the "purple Yoda," or
Yoda purpurata, in the journal
Invertebrate Biology
in 2012, after finding the deep-sea acorn worm swimming near the North
Atlantic seafloor. Acorn worms are so named for having an acorn-shaped
front end, but the pronounced, floppy wings on either side of this
worm's head region reminded researchers of
Yoda's signature ears. Image credit: David Shale
Greedo catfish
The bulging-eyed, flat-headed catfish
Peckoltia greedoi was described in a study published in
ZooKeys
in 2015. In the study, author Jonathan Armbruster wrote that the
species was "named for Greedo of Rodia, a bounty hunter killed by Han
Solo in Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina in "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New
Hope." Armbruster added that the catfish and its bounty hunter namesake
share "a remarkable resemblance." Image credit: Jonathan W. Armbruster
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