Harrison Ford’s name is used in naming of new Peruvian snake species discovered … after spider and ant species were named in his honor
Harrison Ford’s name is used in naming new Peruvian snake species discovered… after species of spiders and ants are named after him
Harrison Ford’s name has been used for a recently discovered species of snake in the Andes Mountains of Peru.
The Chicago-born actor, 81, inspired the naming of the snake – the Tachymenoides harrisonfordi – which is a pale yellowish brown and measures 18 inches (45 cm) in length.
“These scientists keep naming critters after me, but it’s always the ones that scare kids…I don’t get it,” Ford, a longtime advocate for environmental causes, said in a statement to Preserve International.
The Hollywood icon joked, “I spend my free time embroidering. I sing lullabies to my basil plants so they don’t fear the night.’
The Oscar-nominated actor, famous for playing Indiana Jones and Han Solo in the Star Wars movies, said he was humbled by the gesture.
The latest: Harrison Ford’s name has been used for a recently discovered species of snake in the Andes Mountains of Peru. The actor, 81, was photographed in London in June
Ford’s name had previously been named after the ant species Pheidole harrisonfordi; and the California spider Calponia harrisonfordi.
Ford pointed out the importance of the discovery of new species in the “wild world” and the research devoted to them.
“On this planet, all fates are intertwined, and right now a million species teeter on the edge of oblivion,” Ford said. “We have an existential mandate to mend our broken relationship with nature and protect the places that sustain life.”
Ford, who reprized the role of Indiana Jones in this summer’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, said that unlike his famous adventurer, he’s a fan of snakes.
“The snake has eyes you can drown in, and it spends most of the day basking by a pool of dirty water — we probably would have been friends in the early 1960s,” the actor said.
In a statement about the newly discovered species, Conservation International described the chain of events leading up to the newly discovered species.
“High in the Andes Mountains, a team of researchers trek through a mountain swamp,” said Conservation International. “Sifting through tall grass, they search for something priceless in the far reaches of a plateau.
Each footstep brings the team closer to a snake coiled in the rush. The scales are wired with copper wire; it stares through amber eyes.’
Ford inspired the naming of the snake – the Tachymenoides harrisonfordi – which is a pale yellowish brown and measures 18 inches (45 cm) in length
Ford, who reprized the role of Indiana Jones in this summer’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, said that unlike his famous adventurer, he’s a fan of snakes. Seen with Karen Allen in 1981’s Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
The organization continued, “If this is starting to sound like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie, hold on to your fedora because this snake’s name is Harrison Ford. Or at least it is now.
The snake’s real name is Tachymenoides harrisonfordi, and it’s brand new to science.’
The nonprofit said it honored Ford’s “decades of environmental advocacy,” including his role as vice chairman of Conservation International.
Ford addressed about climate change TIME magazine in October 2020, stating that “the climate crisis is real” and that “the weight of scientific evidence is overwhelming, but evidence can be ignored.”
The Air Force One star said that “leaders who choose to make climate change a divisive issue do so to protect the deep-seated economic interests that benefit from behavior that destroys our planet.
‘It’s selfish. It’s shortsighted. It has to stop… this mess is going to kill us.”