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A previously unknown species of catfish has been named for the wide-eyed, puckered-mouth “Star Wars” character it resembles.
Its scientific name is Peckoltia greedoi, and it is known for its large, dark eyes, puckered lips and protruding bristles.
But you can call him Greedo, in honor of the bounty hunter from “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.” You might remember him from the cantina scene on Mos Eisley, where he was killed by Han Solo while attempting to collect on a debt for Jabba the Hutt. |
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“I think it was the whole package that evoked Greedo, but particularly the eyes and the underslung mouth,” said Jonathan Armbruster, biological sciences professor and curator of fishes at the Auburn University Museum of Natural History.
Armbruster made the connection in September with colleagues David Werneke, Milton Tan and Chris Hamilton. But, like many things in academia, it took a while to make it official.
The specimens were found in 1998 by researchers along the Gurupi River in Brazil. Armbruster obtained them in 2005 from a museum in Porto Alegre for a manuscript he was preparing on the genus, “thinking they were unusual.”
He designated them as another existing species, Peckoltia vittata, in a 2008 paper, “although I had not been comfortable with that designation.” |
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