Rock giants Pink Floyd honored
in naming of newly discovered,
bright pink pistol shrimp
Pink Floyd was discovered on the
Pacific coast of Panama . It is a pink-clawed
species of pistol shrimp.
This pistol shrimp was given the
scientific name of Synalpheus pinkfloydi
“Just like all good rock bands, pistol
shrimps, or snapping shrimps, have an
ability to generate substantial amounts of
sonic energy. By closing its enlarged claw at
rapid speed the shrimp creates a high-
pressure cavitation bubble, the implosion of
which results in one of the loudest sounds
in the ocean -- strong enough to stun or
even kill a small fish.”, according to
ScienceNews.
The scientific name of the shrimp was
given by the report's authors, Arthur Anker
of the Universidade Federal de Goiás in
Brazil, Kristin Hultgren of Seattle University
in the USA, and Sammy De Grave, of Oxford
University Museum of Natural History.
“De Grave has been a life-long Pink
Floyd fan and has been waiting for the
opportunity to name the right new species
after the band.”, according to ScienceNews.
“I have been listening to
Floyd since The Wall was
released in 1979, when I was 14
years old. I've seen them play
live several times since, including
the Hyde Park reunion gig for
Live8 in 2005. The description of
this new species of pistol shrimp
was the perfect opportunity to
finally give a nod to my favourite
band," he says.
Arthur Anker, the report's
lead author, says: "I often play
Pink Floyd as background music
while I'm working, but now the
band and my work have been
happily combined in the
scientific literature."
Nevertheless, the
Synalpheus pinkfloydi has many
physical similarity with the
Synalpheus antillensis, found in
1909 in western Atlantic. “But
the authors of the new paper
found that the two species show
considerable genetic divergence,
granting S. pinkfloydi a new
species status and its very own
rock and roll name.”
Salma Talaat