Scientists Discover New Snail And Name It After Greta Thunberg

Greta Thunberg is having a good run. Not only was she named TIME's 2019 Person Of The Year, she has also been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize - and now she's had a snail named after her.

That's right, the young Swedish activist now shares her name with a newly discovered species of snail - the team of researchers that found the creature have named it Craspedotropis gretathunbergae in her honour.

They're not just naming the animal after the 17-year-old for the sake of it either... this species of land snail (and others like it) is likely to suffer as a result of climate change, famously Greta's bête noire.

According to the Biodiversity Data Journal, the snail itself is said to have a 'distinct sculpture' with a high conical, consisting of 5.25 to 5.75 convex whorls. It is said to be around 2.7 - 2.9mm high and 1.7 - 1.8mm wide.

Natural History Museum

Late last year, it was announced that the climate activist's name was to be bestowed upon a new species of beetle, as a way of marking her 'outstanding contribution' to raising awareness of climate change.

The newly described Nalloptodes gretae belongs to a group of some of the smallest known free-living animals. They have no eyes, no wings, and are just 1mm long.

But they do have long antennae on their heads which resemble pigtails - like those the campaigner has been seen to wear.

PA

Michael Darby, a Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum, said: "These beetles are so very small that my wife has described them as being like animated full stops.

"But actually many are a whole lot smaller than a full stop. I'd also like to stress that I've not named this species after Greta because it is small - it's just that this is the group that I work on."

Michael has named several species of Ptiliidae after prominent people, including one for Sir David Attenborough, meaning that 'Nalloptodes gretae' is certainly in prestigious company.

Michael went on to say: "I suspect that this could very well be the first time a species has been named after Greta. I don't know of any other beetle named after her, that's for sure.

"I'm really a great fan of Greta. She is a great advocate for saving the planet and she is amazing at doing it, so I thought that this was a good opportunity to recognise that."

Topics: Science, Greta Thunberg, Animals

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media - which inevitably and eventually became as glum as it sounds. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a 'thing' way before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

@RJShepherd94