Taylor Swift Inspires Naming of New Australian Insect Species
Sarah Schroeder, a doctoral student at UC Riverside, recently named four newly discovered Australian insect species after her favorite pop star, Taylor Swift. The genus, Swiftiephylus, consists of Swiftiephylus taylorae, Swiftiephylus amator, Swiftiephylus intrepidus, and Swiftiephylus poetorum, with references to the singer and her albums. The insects' coloring, pale yellow with red accents, is likened to Swift's blonde hair and red lips, helping them blend in with she-oak flowers. These bug specimens were part of a collection of 50,000 insects studied over several years by researchers from the American Museum of Natural History and Australian collaborators. Schroeder's adviser, Christiane Weirauch, suggested she examine the specimens for her dissertation. The findings were published in Insect Systematics and Evolution.