New fungus-farming ant species named after Radiohead A new species of ant found in the Venezuelan Amazon has been named after the rock band Radiohead “in honour […]

A new species of ant found in the Venezuelan Amazon has been named after the rock band Radiohead “in honour of their music and contribution to conservation”.

Scientists from the Smithsonian Institution’s Ant Lab in Washington DC discovered the “silky” ant that grows its own fungus gardens for food during a species-hunting trip across central and south America.

Through dna and microscopic analysis of their haul, they identified three new species of Sericomyrmex, the less well-known relatives of the more famous leaf-cutter ants.

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One of those species, Sericomyrmex radioheadi, was named after the British art rockers. “We wanted to honour their music” said one of the study’s authors, Ana Jesovnik.

Conservation

“But more importantly, we wanted to acknowledge the conservation efforts of the band members, especially in raising climate-change awareness. “

The research, published in the journal ZooKeys, reveals that Sericomyrmex, which translates as “silky ants”, belong to a group of ants that have figured out how to farm fungus to meet their food needs.

The study also reports that Sericomyrmex is a youngster in evolutionary terms. At only four million years old, it is the most recently-evolved genus of fungus-farming ants.

We wanted to acknowledge the conservation efforts of the band members, especially in raising climate-change awareness

Because of its comparative youth, the genus is likely to provide good candidates for further evolutionary studies because the organisms are diversifying quickly. Radiohead were approached for comment but have yet to respond.