Elton John recently had a new crustacean species, collected by Dr. James Thomas and colleagues from Raja Ampat, Indonesia, named after him. (Photo : Twitter)
Elton John, best remembered for some of the best songs in classic pop rock history, just got a tiny but extraordinary crustacean named after him. The coral reef crustacean was discovered by Dr. James Thomas and his colleagues in a remote coral reef in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.
Dr. Thomas, a marine researcher from Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography in Florida, came upon the new species while exploring coral reefs with colleagues from the Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity museum.
The amphipod was found in a commensal association inside another reef invertebrate. Thomas said he named the crustacean after John because he has been listening to the famous singer during his entire scientific career.
Dr. Thomas said that he recalled the "Yellow Brick Road" and "Skyline Pigeon" crooner when he was closely examining the crustacean species with enlarged appendage under his microscope.
The unusual shape of the crustacean that Thomas named Leucothoe eltoni brought to mind John's bizarre get-up as The Pinball Wizard in the film adaptation of the rock opera "Tommy."
Dr. Thomas had earlier conducted studies in the Philippines. It was deduced that the mode of entry into the Hawaiian waters was "as hitchhiker inside its host sponge or tunicate... attached to a large floating drydock transported to Hawaii from Subic Bay, Philippines" Thomas wrote in his scientific paper.
Notwithstanding their small size, crustacean species like the L. eltoni provide vital information about reef health, the American Association for the Advancement of Science published.
Naming species discovered by scientists after places or admired people based on the creatures' dominant features has raised interest in recent years. A crayfish was recently named after American computer professional and whistleblower Edward Joseph Snowden.
