Taylor Swift fan helps discover 12 insect species, names 4 after singer and albums
A new genus of Australian insects has been named Swiftiephylus after singer Taylor Swift. Four new species within this genus also bear names inspired by her music. These pale yellow and cream-colored insects were collected between 1995 and 2004. Their discovery highlights the vast undocumented insect diversity remaining globally. This naming brings attention to insect conservation and scientific…
Taylor Swift has become the namesake of a new genus of plant-feeding insects discovered in Australia. University of California, Riverside doctoral student Sarah Schroeder, who is a devoted fan of Swift, hopes that this unusual honor will raise awareness about these insects and insect conservation. A new paper published in the journal Insect Systematics and Evolution details the discovery of 12 new species, including the Swiftiephylus genus.
The four Swift-inspired species are Swiftiephylus taylorae, Swiftiephylus amator, Swiftiephylus intrepidus, and Swiftiephylus poetorum. The genus name combines "Swiftie," the term for Swift's fans, with "Phylus," a common name for this group of insects. These insects, belonging to the Miridae family, are found on Australian she-oaks and are not known to harm their hosts.
Their pale yellow coloration with red accents may aid in camouflage among she-oak flowers. The discovery of these species highlights the importance of taxonomy in documenting biodiversity and underscores the need to conserve the vast array of unknown insect species that still remain undocumented.
Written by urgent.news from Phys.org's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
