Vier Arten: Neu bestimmte Insektengattung trägt Namen von Taylor Swift

Scientists have named four newly determined insect species after US superstar Taylor Swift. These creatures belong to the newly named genus Swiftiephylus, according to the University of California, Riverside. Within this genus, the experts designated four species, naming them Swiftiephylus taylorae, Swiftiephylus amator, Swiftiephylus intrepidus, and Swiftiephylus poetorum.

The names are the Latin versions of "Taylor" and the singer's albums "Lover," "Fearless," and "Poets," which also refers to the album "The Tortured Poets Department." These insects belong to the family of soft-winged insects. Doctoral candidate Sarah Schroeder, who co-authored the associated scientific paper, hopes that naming the insects after Taylor Swift will garner more attention for insect conservation.

The insect-eaters were described as an "authentic" way to honor Taylor Swift and draw attention to the diversity of insects yet to be discovered, according to Schroeder. The four new species are reportedly plant-eaters and closely related to the Australian plant genus Allocasuarina. Naming the insects after Taylor Swift was also due to their appearance, as they have red-orange structures on their pale bodies, resembling the flowers of Allocasuarina.

Schroeder described the insects as "blonde" in the scientific paper. It took years for these newly determined insects to receive their names, as they were found between 1995 and 2004 by American and Australian researchers who collected 50,000 specimens. These specimens needed to be sorted, studied, and identified.