Newly Discovered Deep-Sea Creature Named After Metallica

A team of European scientists has named a newly discovered deep-sea crustacean after Metallica, the band announced on Instagram Thursday.

The group shared an artists’ rendering of the gnarly looking little creature, now officially known by the delightful mouthful-of-a-name “Macrostylis metallicola.” “We’ve played on all seven continents, made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and now… we’re a crustacean!” the band cracked in the caption.

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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 Feb 27, 2020 at 11:35am PST

Dr. Torben Riehl of the Senckenberg natural history museum in Frankfurt, Germany, and Dr. Bart De Smet of Ghent University in Belgium discovered the Macrostylis metallicola deep in the northern Pacific Ocean. Metallica said that Riehl selected the name because he was a life-long Metallica fan, but they also noted that the creature — jokingly referred to as “The Thing That Should Not Be” — does share some similarities with the group.

“The worm-like creature dwells in complete darkness, has no eyes, and is colorless,” Metallica said. “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!”

Metallica recently canceled appearances at two summer festivals, Sonic Temple and Louder Than Life, while James Hetfield continues to seek mental health treatment following a relapse last fall. The band still has additional shows scheduled for this year, including a South American tour in April and sets at Welcome to Rockville (May 8th and 9th) and Aftershock (October 9th and 11th).

Featured via: Rollingstone