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Never in her Wildest Dreams did she think she'd have a new millipede species named after her, too.
Derek Hennen, an entomologist and self-proclaimed Swiftie had the idea and he couldn't Shake It Off. He wanted to show the Wyomissing native some appreciation, so he called his discovery the Nannaria swiftae.
"I really enjoy Taylor Swift's music, and I've been a fan for years," Henne told Daily Voice.
"With this new twisted-claw millipede, I collected it in Tennessee, a state she has lived in — I thought it would be fitting to name it for her. Her music has helped me through rough spots in life, so naming a new species for her was my way of saying 'thank you.'"
The Nannaria swiftae is one of 17 new species of Twisted-Claw Millipedes from Appalachia that Hennen spent five years searching for. He named another after his wife.
Hennen earned his Ph. D. at Virginia Tech studying the biology of millipedes and described new species of Appalachian millipedes, his website says.
Catch him spreading the joy of millipedes on Twitter @DearMillipede.
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