European Scientists Name New Crustacean Species After Metallica

A new crustacean species has been discovered by a team of European scientists and the deep-sea species has officially been named after Metallica.

On Instagram, the band shared the news with an artist's drawing of the creature and revealed the official name “Macrostylis metallicola.”

Dr. Torben Riehl of the Senckenberg natural history museum in Frankfurt, Germany, and Dr. Bart De Smet of Ghent University in Belgium discovered the new species deep in the northern Pacific Ocean. As a life-long fan of Metallica, Riehl found that “Macrostylis metallicola” was the perfect name to honor the band and their impact on his life.

When sharing the news, Metallica said, “We’ve played on all seven continents, made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and now… we’re a crustacean!” “The worm-like creature dwells in complete darkness, has no eyes, and is colorless. Talk about Blackened! It also lives amongst metallic nodules containing cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel and rare-earth elements. So it basically lives in a rock stadium? Now that’s one metal crustacean!”

In his own statement, Riehl said, “The powerful music of Metallica has accompanied me the majority of my life. Songs such as ‘Master of Puppets’ and ‘One’ are outstanding masterpieces in rock history and I am thrilled to be able to give something back to the band by naming a new species after them!”


See Metallica's Instagram post below.

View this post on Instagram

We’ve played on all seven continents, made it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and now… we’re a crustacean! Senckenberg researcher Dr. Torben Riehl and Dr. Bart De Smet of Ghent University in Belgium have discovered a new crustacean species in the depths of the northern Pacifica Ocean and decided to name it after some rock band… Welcome to our world Macrostylis metallicola! First of all, stellar name Dr. Riehl. Second, what an honor! Not only did Dr. Riehn name his discovery after a band as he has been a fan since childhood, The Thing That Should Not Be has a few things in common with us. The worm-like creature dwells in complete darkness, has no eyes, and is colorless. Talk about Blackened! It also lives amongst metallic nodules containing cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel, and rare-earth elements. So it basically lives in a rock stadium? Now that’s one metal crustacean! You just never know what you’ll find lurking beneath the sea. Art by @anyfranksz

A post shared by Metallica (@metallica) on


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Article image: Metallica performing in October 2017. (Raph_PH [CC BY 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons.)