A new crab species has been named after Finnish/British/Dutch symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH. The band says: "One new crab species (Tanidromites nightwishorum) was named after us in honor in particular for our 2015 album, 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful', about the evolution of life.
"The new species of crab was found in eastern Austria and lived during the late part of the Jurassic period, around 150 million years ago. While dinosaurs dominated the land, parts of Europe were covered by a warm, shallow sea full of life. Tanidromites nightwishorum was discovered in a fossil coral reef. Crab diversity and abundance exploded for the very first time in their evolutionary history during the Late Jurassic in central Europe.
"Thanks to Dr Adiel A. Klompmaker and his colleagues for this truly fantastic honour (Adiel is curator of palaeontology, Alabama museum of natural history).
"The scientific paper was published online."
Four years ago, NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen spoke to Geeks Life Luxembourg about the band's collaboration with evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins on "Endless Forms Most Beautiful". He said: "Well, I had one of those huge 'fanboy' moments, which I very rarely get anymore, when I met him for the first time a little over a year ago, when we recorded his part for the album in a studio in Oxford. I've been a fan of his works, his books for years and years. And [he was] a major inspiration for the new album as well. [He is] one of my true heroes, and meeting him was quite something. And he's a true English gentleman. He has the mind the size of the whole cosmos, and it was just such a great honor that he actually agreed to come."
