A newly discovered species of shrimp has been named after rock legends Pink Floyd thanks to a deal struck between scientists who are also prog-rock fans.

The ‘synalpheus pinkfloydi’ has a rather unusual but appropriate defence mechanism for its new name - it uses its claw to emit a noise so loud that it can kill small fish. Closing its enlarged claw at rapid speed, it is one of the loudest sounds in the ocean, reaching 210 decibels – louder than the majority of rock concerts!

The team of scientists that made the discovery promised each other years ago that if they ever found a new species of pink shrimp they would name it after Pink Floyd in order to “honour” them.

Roger WatersRoger Waters of Pink Floyd

Sammy de Grave, who heads up research at the Oxford University Museum of National History, said that he has been a fan of the British rock group since he was a teenager.

“I have been listening to Floyd since The Wall was released in 1979, when I was 14 years old,” de Grave said. “The description of this new species of pistol shrimp was the perfect opportunity to finally give a nod to my favourite band.”

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“We are all Pink Floyd fans, and we always said if we would find a pink one, a new species of pink shrimp, we would name it after Pink Floyd.”

It’s not the first time he’s taken the name of a musical legend in order to dub one of his crustacean discoveries, naming another species of pink shrimp ‘elephantis jaggerai’, after The Rolling Stones’ frontman Sir Mick Jagger.

Found off the Pacific coast of Panama, the description of the Pink Floyd Shrimp has been published in the Zootaxa journal and was co-authored with the Universidade Federal de Goiás in Brazil, and Seattle University in America.

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