Fact 179: Is there an animal named after Darth Vader?
Fact 179: Is there an animal named after Darth Vader?
The answer is yes, Glenn Hunt, who first discovered the Darthvaderum, the scientific name for the mite is Darthvaderum greensladeae Hunt,(1996) the mite is a tiny type of beetle mite.
Glenn Hunt decided to name the mite after Darth vader because the head of the mite under a powerful microscope looked like vaders helmet.
The microscope that Glenn Hunt used to see the Darthvaderum was a scanning electron microscope (SEM) that was highly magnified to produce an image of the mite's body and head.
The Darthvaderum mite is found in eastern Australia.
Glenn Hunt's findings were first published In 1996 by the Australian Museum in Sydney who added to there collection the Darthvaderum genus which is a type of tree mite.
