The word Swiftie describes a Taylor Swift stan . Swiftae , meanwhile, is the second half of the scientific name of a millipede recently christened in the singerâs honor.
As NPR reports , the full nomenclature is Nannaria swiftae â Nannaria referring to a genus of millipedes commonly known as âtwisted-claw millipedes.â This particular species was discovered at Fall Creek Falls State Park , which covers nearly 30,000 acres in central Tennessee. Though Swift launched her music career in the Volunteer State, thatâs not why she was chosen as the arthropodâs namesake. The real reason? Because the entomologist who first spotted the new species, Derek Hennen, is a Swiftie himself.
Hennen told NPR that the name is a display of gratitude, as Swiftâs songs have helped him weather âsome rough times.â He seems to appreciate her new music as well as the older stuff: His top two tracks are âNew Romantics,â from the 2014 album 1989 ; and âbetty,â from 2020âs folklore . With its forest habitat and autumnal color schemeâchestnut brown body, outlined in orangeâthe âSwift Twisted-Claw Millipedeâ definitely emulates folklore over 1989 .Â
It wasnât the only new millipede species that Hennen identified during the search; he named another one Nannaria marianae in honor of his wife, Marian. In total, the excursion turned up 17 previously unknown millipede species, which Hennen and his fellow researchers, Jackson Means and Paul Marek, detailed in a paper published earlier this month in the journal ZooKeys .Â
How Swift feels about adding âbug namesakeâ to her legacy remains to be seen, but sheâs in good company: Lady Gaga had a treehopper named after her in 2020.
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