The synalpheus pinkfloydi uses its large pink claw to
create a noise so loud it can kill small fish.
The team behind the discovery vowed years ago if it
ever found a new pink shrimp it would "honour" the rockers.
Sammy De Grave, head of research at Oxford University
Museum of National History, said he has been a fan of the band since he was a
teenager.
And it is not the first crustacean he's named after a
rock legend, having already named a species of shrimp after Rolling Stones front
man, Mick Jagger - elephantis jaggerai.
He said: "I have been listening to Floyd since
The Wall was released in 1979, when I was 14 years old.
"The description of this new species of pistol
shrimp was the perfect opportunity to finally give a nod to my favourite band.
"We are all Pink Floyd fans, and we always said
if we would find a pink one, a new species of pink shrimp, we would name it
after Pink Floyd."
The pistol, or snapping shrimp, has an ability to
generate sonic energy by closing their enlarged claw at rapid speed.
It can reach 210 decibels - louder than your average
rock concert - and results in one of the loudest sounds in the ocean.
The description of the species, found off the Pacific
coast of Panama, has been published in the Zootaxa journal and was co-authored
with the Universidade Federal de Goiás in Brazil, and Seattle University in the
US.
Saisi!
No comments:
Post a Comment