Many species have ironic, funny, or pop culture names.
There’s the spider Myrmekiaphelia neilyoungi, the beetle Macrostyphus gandalf, and the parasitic (and possibly poker-faced) wasp Aleiodes gaga. But finally us 80’s gamer geeks have a species we can proudly call our own…
Galagadon nordquiestae.
Galagadon, a genus of extinct sharks, was so named because its teeth resemble the video game spaceship. Looking at them side by side (above) it’s easy to say why. According to the paper published in the Journal of Paleontology, this shark was a small, river-dwelling species with teeth specialized to crush shells and eat small fish. Not QUITE Jaws level of awesome, but still absolutely amazing.
What’s next, a protein named after Sonic the Hedgehog?!
