Did you hear the one about the fish that looks like a Rodian bounty hunter?
In a recent publication, a team of AUMNH scientists led by Dr. Johnathan Armbruster, AUMNH’s Curator of fishes, described three new species of suckermouth armored catfish belonging to the Family Loricariidae. One of these new species bares a striking resemblance to Greedo, the bounty hunter that confronts Han Solo inside Chalmun’s Spaceport Cantina in Mos Eisley in Episode IV. This lead Dr. Armbruster and his team to name the fish Peckoltia greedoi in honor of the green-skinned character.
The story behind the name has caught the attention of the news media and social media alike and it even made the front page of CNN.
Find out more about the fish and the scientists below:
CNN’S COVERAGE CAN BE FOUND HERE.
Citation:
Armbruster JW, Werneke DC, Tan M (2015) Three new species of saddled loricariid catfishes, and a review of Hemiancistrus, Peckoltia, and allied genera (Siluriformes). ZooKeys 480: 97-123. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.480.6540