Taylor Swift is a global phenomenon and her fans do the unthinkable when it comes to expressing their love for the singer. From trending her everyday on Twitter to talking about even the smallest detail about her, her fans sure know how to express themselves. Recently, a Swftie even went on to name a new species of milipede after the singer. 

Derek Hennen, an entomologist who completed his Ph.D. at Virginia Tech in 2020, discovered a millipede species. He decided to name it after the singer. According to a paper published by him in the journal ZooKeys, the species is called Nannaria Swiftae — or vernacularly, the Swift Twisted-Claw Millipede.

Hennen along with co-authors Jackson Means and Paul Marek discovered the new species as a part of their paper. It identified 17 new species of Twisted-Claw Millipedes from Appalachia. The team determined that the arthropod named after Swift is a unique species because of the millipede’s genetics and special legs.

The Swift Twisted-Claw Millipede was a “thank you” gesture from Hennen to Swift, he told NPR. Her music has gotten him through “some rough times,” he said. Hennen also revealed that he keeps a couple of her CDs in his car that he rotates through. His favorite songs are “New Romantics” and “Betty.”

Hennen traveled to 17 states for his research including Virginia, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania and New York. Often traveling with his team for the research, the reseracher said that he was able to incorporate some of Swift’s music during the drives across these states.

The scientist hopes that the Swift Twisted-Claw Millipede is “pretty well-protected” because it’s in a state park. The millipede was also found in a few other Tennessee counties. “It’ll probably be around for quite a while now,” he said about the Swift Twisted-Claw Millipede’s future.

Upon hearing the news, fans of Taylor Swift also reacted to the news with happy tweets. Check out what they said:

(Featured Image Credits: Twitter)