Nature & Environment

New species of snake has been named after Harrison Ford

By T.K. Randall
August 18, 2023

Image: Murray Darling Carpet Python (illustrative)
Credit: Scarlet23 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (adapted) "Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes ?" With those immortal words, Ford - or at least his on-screen counterpart Indiana Jones - would forever become synonymous with these slithering serpents.

Now the researchers behind the discovery of a new species of pale yellowish-brown snake in the Andes mountains of Peru have immortalized this connection by naming the animal Tachymenoides harrisonfordi.

This isn't the first animal to be named after him either - there's also a type of ant named Pheidole harrisonfordi and even a spider which is called Calponia harrisonfordi."These scientists keep naming critters after me, but it's always the ones that terrify children," said Ford. "I don't understand. I spend my free time cross-stitching."

"I sing lullabies to my basil plants, so they won't fear the night."

"In all seriousness, this discovery is humbling. It's a reminder that there's still so much to learn about our wild world - and that humans are one small part of an impossibly vast biosphere."

Source: IGN.com

Tags: Snake, Harrison Ford