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(The Hill) — It’s 5 o’clock somewhere for a new species of sea snail, Cayo margarita, whose name was inspired by the late singer Jimmy Buffett.
The creatures, native to the Florida Reef, were named in a study published Monday in the journal PeerJ.
The “margarita” in the mollusk’s name is a reference to “the vividly lemon-yellow coloration that this species shares with the citrus-juice-based cocktail drink,” according to the study cited in the journal.
The study’s author, biologist Rüdiger Bieler, told CNN that the snail serves as an underwater tribute to “Margaritaville” singer Buffett, who died last month at 76.
“In some ways, our team was no stranger to the regional signature drink. And of course, Jimmy Buffett’s music,” Bieler said.
“So when we came up with a species name, we really wanted to allude to the color of the drink and the fact that it lives in the Florida Keys,” Bieler said, noting that he’s a “bit of a Parrothead,” the term Buffett fans are known by.
It’s not the first time that researchers have recently turned to public figures for inspiration when naming various critters and creepy-crawly species. Last year, scientists named a fossilized vampire squid after President Joe Biden. Australian scientists dubbed a new rainbow-colored fly species Opaluma rupaul after entertainer RuPaul in 2021. Poet Amanda Gorman had an algae species named after her, while climate activist Greta Thunberg was recognized with an eponymous rainfrog species last year.
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