Harrison Ford Inspires Name Of New Snake Species Found In Peru’s Andes Mountains

One of the perks of being a scientist is that when they discover a new species, they get to name it. For a group of researchers from Peru and the US, they’ve found inspiration in Harrison Ford.

Called Tachymenoides harrisonfordi, a new species of snake found in the Andes Mountain in Peru. The discovery was revealed in the August edition of the scientific journal Salamandra on Tuesday (Aug 15).  The snake measures 16 inches (or 40cm) long and is pale yellowish-brown with scattered black blotches, a black belly, and a vertical streak over its copper-coloured eye.

The researchers named the reptile after Ford, 81, to honour his decades-long environmental advocacy. Ford is currently the vice-chair of the non-profit group Conservation International.

Ford has another snake connection in popular culture: Indiana Jones, the iconic archaeologist he portrayed in five movies, is famously ophidiophobic. (Plus: Jones was in Peru in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.) 

But in real life, Ford is comfortable around snakes. In fact, he “found a quick kinship” with the Tachymenoides harrisonfordi.

“The snake’s got eyes you can drown in, and he spends most of the day sunning himself by a pool of dirty water — we probably would’ve been friends in the early ‘60s,” he told Conservation International. 

He also inspired the names of an ant (Pheidole harrisonfordi) and a spider (Calponia harrisonfordi).

“These scientists keep naming critters after me, but it’s always the ones that terrify children. I don’t understand. I spend my free time cross-stitching. I sing lullabies to my basil plants, so they won’t fear the night,” said Ford, speaking to the outlet.

“In all seriousness, this discovery is humbling. It’s a reminder that there’s still so much to learn about our wild world — and that humans are one small part of an impossibly vast biosphere.

“On this planet, all fates are intertwined, and right now, one million species are teetering on the edge of oblivion. We have an existential mandate to mend our broken relationship with nature and protect the places that sustain life.”

It’s not uncommon for scientists to name new species after celebrities. In 2022, researchers named a species of millipedes — one of 17 revealed in one paper — Nannaria swiftae, after Taylor Swift. Turns out the lead author is a Swiftie. A decade earlier, a horse fly is named Plinthina beyonceae after Beyonce. Scientists reportedly coined the name because they were fans of the Beyonce song ‘Bootylicious’ and they considered the bug as the “all-time diva of flies”.

The Indiana Jones movies — excluding the latest, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny — are on Disney+.