Nannaria swiftae

Last updated

Swift twisted-claw millipede
Nannaria swiftae oo 672997.jpg
Male N. swiftae from Van Buren County, Tennessee.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Myriapoda
Class: Diplopoda
Order: Polydesmida
Family: Xystodesmidae
Genus: Nannaria
Species:
N. swiftae
Binomial name
Nannaria swiftae
Hennen, Means & Marek, 2022

Nannaria swiftae, also known as the Swift twisted-claw millipede [1] or Taylor Swift's millipede, [2] is a species of millipede in the family Xystodesmidae. It is found only in the Appalachian mountains of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It was discovered and described in 2022 by entomologists Derek Hennen, Jackson Means and Paul Marek, who expanded the genus Nannaria to 78 species. They named the species in honor of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.

Contents

Description

As part of a multi-year project to collect new specimens of the millipedes throughout the Eastern United States, scientists including Derek Hennen of Virginia Tech traveled to 17 states, to find the species, sequence their DNA, and scientifically describe them. Over 1,800 specimens were collected and assessed during their field study spanning five years. In the end, the team described 17 new species, one of which is N. swiftae. [3]

Nannaria swiftae is a flat-backed millipede that has tergites with two paranotal orange spots, collum outlined in orange, and tergites with background chestnut brown. [4]

Name

Taylor Swift in 2022 Taylor Swift 2022 infobox.jpg
Taylor Swift in 2022

The naming of an animal species is required to comply with the guidelines established by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), which allow names that honor people, including celebrities. N. swiftae was named after American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift "in recognition of her talent as a songwriter and performer and in appreciation of the enjoyment her music has brought DAH." [4] Hennen, the lead author of the scientist team that discovered the species, said Swift's music "helped [him] get through the highs and lows of graduate school, so naming a new millipede species after her is [his] way of saying thanks." [1] Of the 16 new species described by Hennen, he picked N. swiftae to be named after Swift as the species is endemic to Swift's home state, Tennessee. [5] The millipede received extensive mainstream media coverage due to its name. [6] [7] [8]

Distribution

Nannaria swiftae is currently found only in Tennessee, a state in the United States, especially in the Appalachian counties of Cumberland, Monroe, and Van Buren. [4]

Habitat

The species has been collected from mesic forests with hemlock, maple, oak, tuliptree, witch hazel, and pine trees, at elevations ranging from 481 metres to 1539 metres. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myriapoda</span> Subphylum of arthropods

Myriapods are the members of subphylum Myriapoda, containing arthropods such as millipedes and centipedes. The group contains about 13,000 species, all of them terrestrial.

<i>Arthropleura</i> Extinct genus of millipedes

Arthropleura is a genus of massive millipedes that lived in what is now North America and Europe around 345 to 290 million years ago, from the Viséan stage of the lower Carboniferous Period to the Sakmarian stage of the lower Permian Period. The species of the genus are the largest known land invertebrates of all time, and would have had few, if any, predators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glomerida</span> Order of millipedes

Glomerida is an order of pill-millipedes found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. Also known as northern pill millipedes, they superficially resemble pill-bugs or woodlice, and can enroll into a protective ball. They have twelve body segments, 17 to 19 pairs of legs, and males have enlarged rear legs involved in mating. The order includes about 30 genera and at least 280 species, including Glomeris marginata, the common European pill-millipede. The order contains members in Europe, South-east Asia and the Americas from California to Guatemala. Although historically considered closely related with the similar sphaerotheriidans that also enroll, some DNA evidence suggest they may be more closely related to glomeridesmidans, a poorly known order that does not enroll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polydesmida</span> Order of millipedes

Polydesmida is the largest order of millipedes, with more than 5,000 species, including all the millipedes reported to produce hydrogen cyanide (HCN). This order is also the most diverse of the millipede orders in terms of morphology. Millipedes in this order are found in all regions of the world other than Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xystodesmidae</span> Family of millipedes

Xystodesmidae is a family of millipedes in the suborder Leptodesmidea within the order Polydesmida. The family Xystodesmidae was created by the American biologist Orator F. Cook in 1895 and named after the genus Xystodesmus. This family includes more than 390 known species distributed among 62 genera. Many species, however, remain undescribed: for example, it is estimated that the genus Nannaria contains over 200 species, but only 25 were described as of 2006. By 2022, 78 species in Nannaria have been described.

<i>Motyxia</i> Genus of millipedes

Motyxia is a genus of cyanide-producing millipedes that are endemic to the southern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, and Santa Monica mountain ranges of California. Motyxias are blind and produce the poison cyanide, like all members of the Polydesmida. All species have the ability to glow brightly: some of the few known instances of bioluminescence in millipedes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safe & Sound (Taylor Swift song)</span> 2011 song by Taylor Swift featuring the Civil Wars

"Safe & Sound" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift featuring the American musical duo the Civil Wars, taken from the soundtrack of The Hunger Games (2012). Swift and the Civil Wars wrote the track with its producer T Bone Burnett. The track is an indie folk ballad with a spare arrangement evoking Americana, alternative country, and Appalachian music. The lyrics are about the Hunger Games protagonist Katniss Everdeen's empathy and compassion for other characters, even as she fights to survive in the eponymous Games. Swift sings lead vocals with a high-pitched vibrato, and the Civil Wars provide vocal harmonies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polyxenida</span> Order of millipedes

Polyxenida is an order of millipedes readily distinguished by a unique body plan consisting of a soft, non-calcified body ornamented with tufts of bristles. These features have inspired the common names bristly millipedes or pincushion millipedes. This order includes about 148 species in four families worldwide, which represent the only living members of the subclass Penicillata.

<i>Brachycybe</i> Genus of millipedes

Brachycybe (Greek for "short head") is a genus of social millipedes with species in the United States and East Asia. Species in this genus are often referred to as "feather millipedes" due to their shape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haplodesmidae</span> Family of millipedes

Haplodesmidae is a family of millipedes in the order Polydesmida. This family includes about 70 species. Species occur in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, although some species have been introduced to the New world tropics.

Justin Tyler McElroy is an American podcaster, comedian, and former video game journalist. He is known for his work on podcasts and as the co-founder of video game journalism website Polygon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Griffin McElroy</span> American podcaster

Griffin Andrew McElroy is an American podcaster, actor, writer, composer, and former video game journalist. He is known for his work on podcasts such as My Brother, My Brother and Me and The Adventure Zone, as well as for co-founding the video game journalism website Polygon.

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<i>Pleuroloma flavipes</i> Species of millipede

Pleuroloma flavipes, commonly known as the traveling cherry millipede, is a species of flat-backed millipede in the family Xystodesmidae. It has the widest distribution of any species of xystodesmid millipede and is found in eastern North America from southeastern North Dakota, eastward to Connecticut, and southward to North Carolina, northern Louisiana, and southern Texas. Pleuroloma flavipes millipedes are occasionally observed in large aggregations of individuals where they appear to move en masse in a certain direction, hence the common name "wandering cherry millipede". In a report from 1950, an aggregation of about 6,000 individuals were encountered on a single bridge at McCormick's Creek State Park, Indiana. The species is extremely variable in coloration, and converges in appearance with several species of Apheloria and Brachoria as a result of mimicry.

<i>Nannaria</i> Genus of millipedes

The genus Nannaria, commonly known as twisted-claw millipedes, is a genus of millipedes in the family Xystodesmidae first described by Ralph Chamberlin in 1918. In 2022, entomologists Derek Hennen, Jackson Means and Paul Marek discovered and described 17 new species, which expanded the size of Nannaria to 78, making it the largest genus of Xystodesmidae.

<i>Zoosphaerium darthvaderi</i> Species of millipede

Zoosphaerium darthvaderi, also known as the Darth Vader giant pill millipede, is a species of giant pill millipede endemic to the island state of Madagascar. It is named after the Star Wars character Darth Vader. The millipede is restricted to the Ambohitantely Reserve and is considered an extremely endangered species.

Castianeira swiftay is a species of sac spider in the family Corinnidae. It is found in Costa Rica, and named in honor of the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.

Devillea is a genus of flat-backed millipedes in the family Xystodesmidae. These millipedes are rare and limited to caves. Species in this genus are found in Sardinia, Capri, and southern France in the Maritime Alps. These species are notable for featuring more than the 20 segments usually found in the order Polydesmida. This genus is one of only two genera in this order to feature these extra segments and the first such genus to be discovered.

Devilliea tuberculata is a species of flat-backed millipedes in the family Xystodesmidae. Like other members of the genus Devillea, this species is limited to caves. This millipede has been found in several caves in the Alpes-Maritimes department of France. This species is notable as the first millipede in the order Polydesmida found to feature more than the 20 segments usually found in this order.

References

  1. 1 2 Blistein, Jon (2022-04-18). "Swiftie Scientist Names New Millipede Species After Taylor Swift". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  2. "On the troubles of naming species". The Economist. 21 September 2022. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  3. Sankaran, Vishwam (2022-04-19). "Seventeen new millipede species discovered, one named after Taylor Swift" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 2022-04-20. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hennen, Derek A.; Means, Jackson C. & Marek, Paul E. (15 April 2022). "A revision of the wilsoni species group in the millipede genus Nannaria Chamberlin, 1918 (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Xystodesmidae)". ZooKeys (1096): 17–118. Bibcode:2022ZooK.1096...17H. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1096.73485 . PMC   9033750 . PMID   35837667. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  5. Sahai, Fred (2022-04-18). "Taylor Swift Has a Millipede Species to Call Her Own Thanks to Superfan Scientist". Billboard . Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  6. Larkin, Alexandra (2022-04-22). "Newly-discovered millipede is named after Taylor Swift - CBS News". CBS News . Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  7. Kooser, Amanda (April 18, 2022). "Taylor Swift Just Got a Twisted-Claw Millipede Named After Her". CNET . Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  8. Marples, Megan (2022-04-20). "Taylor Swift inspired an entomologist to name a new millipede species after the megastar". CNN. Retrieved 2023-07-17.

Further reading