Taylor Swift was the inspiration for the name of a new millipede species

The name of the newly described Twisted-Claw Millipede, Nannaria swiftae, is inspired by Taylor Swift.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images; Dr. Derek Hennen/Pensoft Publishers

There are more than 200 songs in Taylor Swift's name. There is also a millipede.

According to a paper published Friday in the journal ZooKeys, a millipede species was discovered by an entomologist who completed his PhD at Virginia Tech in 2020. The species is called Nannaria swiftae.

A paper by Hennen, Jackson Means and Paul Marek identified 17 new species of Twisted-Claw Millipedes from Appalachia. Hennen explained that the insect named for Swift was a unique species because of its genetics and special legs.

The Swift Twisted-Claw Millipede is a thank you from Hennen to Swift, he told NPR. He said that her music has gotten him through some rough times.

Hennen keeps a couple of Swiftie CDs in his car. His favorite songs are New Romantics and Aupair.

Hennen traveled to 17 states, including Virginia, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania and New York, in order to look for some of the same things. He said he was able to include some of Swift's music during the drives.

Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee is where Swift began her career. Swift moved to Tennessee as a teenager to pursue a country music career.

Hennen remembers searching through the woods on the side of the road after pulling into the parking lot. He and his team spent about 45 minutes searching for something before they shifted their inspection to the other side of the road.

Hennen said that the park has a gorgeous overlook. We went down the road and found some more after picking up one there.

The Swift Twisted-Claw Millipede should be pretty well protected because it is in a state park, according to Hennen. In a few other Tennessee counties, the millipede was also found.

He said that it will probably be around for a while now.

One of the new species was named after Hennen's wife, Marian.