Posted in: Disney, Movies, Paramount Pictures | Tagged: harrison ford, indiana jones, lucasfilm, raiders of the lost ark, snake

Indiana Jones Star Harrison Ford Inspired Name of New Snake Species

Scientists named a new snake species after Indiana Jones star Harrison Ford, whose character is ophidiophobic. Actor comments on honor.

It's no secret that Indiana Jones and star Harrison Ford inspired generations of archaeologists since his initial adventure in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark. The character's pop culture reverence goes beyond into other sciences, ironically in herpetology with a new snake species named after the actor. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the whip-wielding and fedora-wearing adventurer is his ophidiophobia, or the fear of snakes. Published in Salamandra (via The Hollywood Reporter), researchers discovered a new species of snake in Peru's Andes mountains. They named the variety after Ford due to honor his decades of environmental advocacy and work as the vice chair of Conservation International.

The species is called "Tachymenoides harrisonfordi" and is described as a type of slender snake that measures 16 inches long. The snake is pale yellowish-brown with scattered black blotches, a black belly, and a vertical streak over his copper-colored eye, making it well-camouflaged to the surrounding environment. The discovery, a joint collaboration between researchers from Peru and the United States, turned up only one male snake in May 2022 while it was sunbathing in a swamp in Otishi National Park.

"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," Ford, who's coming off his final franchise adventure in 2023's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, said. "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." The actor also inspired the species name of an ant (Pheidole harrisonfordi) and spider (Calponia harrisonfordi). For more, you can check out the report here.

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