A worm from an ecosystem far,
far away on the ocean floor has been named after the Star Wars character Yoda.
Yoda
purpurata is
one of three new species of deep-sea acorn worms discovered 1.5 miles beneath
the Atlantic.
Scientists coined the name
after large lips on either side of the creature's head reminded them of the
Jedi master's floppy ears.
The other part of the worm's name
is Latin for purple and describes its colour.
The Yoda worm, technically
known as an enteropneust, is described in the latest issue of the journal Invertebrate Biology.
A remotely-operated robot
submersible collected the specimen during a research mission along the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge between Iceland and the Azores.
Professor Monty Priede, from
the University of Aberdeen, said: "Our colleague in California, Nick
Holland, the world authority on enteropneusts, chose the name Yoda for the new
genus characterised by its large ear-like lips.
"There is much interest
in acorn worms from the point of view of understanding the early evolution of
the vertebrates. Whilst they are not strictly a missing link in our own
evolution, they give an insight into what the lifestyle of our remote ancestors
might have been like."
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!