Pink Floyd honored in naming of newly-discovered shrimp

A British scientist recently announced the discovery of a new hot pink crustacean.  In honour of the sea creature’s flaming colour, the University of Oxford researcher, Sammy De Grave, decided to name his discovery after his favorite rock band, Pink Floyd.  The species is now officially named “Synalpheus pinkfloydi”. The dashing sea animal kills its prey by creating a deadly blast of sound with its over-sized claws.

Animals feature frequently in the Floyd back-catalogue. Indeed, the 1977 album Animals includes tracks titled Dogs, Sheep, and a suite of music dedicated to pigs. Then there’s Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict from 1969’s Ummagumma. In fact, other biologists have already named a damselfly after that album: Umma gumma, in the family Calopterygidae. However, until today there have been no crustacean names known to honour the band.