Greta Thunberg has cemented her place in social history as a globe-trotting climate activist, two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Time Person of the Year, and Hulu documentary subject.
Now, the teenager has earned a place in science history.
A team of researchers honored Thunberg by naming a newly discovered snail species after her.
Citizen scientists from Taxon Expeditions discovered the land snail in Borneo’s tropical rainforest, where the important-but-threatened animal is likely to suffer due to climate change.
The gastropod, known as Craspedotropis gretathunbergae, belongs to a genus which is sensitive to drought, temperature extremes, and forest degradation—all things its namesake is fighting against.
“Naming this snail after Greta Thunberg is our way of acknowledging that her generation will be responsible for fixing problems that they did not create,” citizen scientist J.P. Lim, who found the first specimen, said in a statement.
Expedition participants and staff at the national park where the snail was discovered agreed on the homage to Sweden’s famous crusader.
It is also “a promise that people from all generations will join her to help,” Lim added.
The expedition team approached Thunberg, who said she would be “delighted” to have the species named after her.
Taxon is no stranger to celebrities: In 2018, the group christened a new type of beetle “Leonardo DiCaprio.” The actor and climate activist temporarily changed his Facebook profile picture to a photo of “his” beetle to acknowledge the honor.
Read more about Craspedotropis gretathunbergae in the full study, published this week in the open-access Biodiversity Data Journal.
Scientists collected living snails near the research field station; the critters were found at the foot of a steep hill next to the riverbank, foraging at night on the green leaves of understorey plants.
More on Geek.com:
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