A newly-discovered species of leucothoid amphipod has been named after British singer and composer Sir Elton John.

“I named the species in honor of Sir Elton John because I have listened to his music in my lab during my entire scientific career,” explained Dr James Thomas from the Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Florida, author of a paper in the journal ZooKeys.

“So, when this unusual crustacean with a greatly enlarged appendage appeared under my microscope after a day of collecting, an image of the shoes Elton John wore as the Pinball Wizard came to mind.”

This tiny (7 – 8 mm long), extraordinary creature, Leucothoe eltoni, can be found in coral reefs of Yenweres Bay, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, and also in the Philippines, where it lives inside other reef invertebrates in a commensal association — without causing any harm, nor benefit to its host.

“The species is found primarily in branchial baskets of solitary tunicates such as Herdmania and Polycarpa sp., rarely in bivalve mollusks (winged pearl oyster Pteria penguin), and branched yellow rope sponges Callyspongia (species undetermined).”

In an interesting twist Leucothoe eltoni is now reported from Hawaiian waters as an invasive species.

“While described from coral reef environments in tropical Indonesia and the Philippines, it is an established invasive species in the Hawaiian Islands,” Dr Thomas said.

“The most likely mode of introduction was a U.S. Navy dry dock transported to Pearl Harbor in 1992 from Subic Bay, Philippines.”

Dr Thomas also pointed out that even though their tiny size, crustaceans such as Leucothoe eltoni provide crucial information about reef health.

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Thomas JD. 2105. Leucothoe eltoni sp. n., a new species of commensal leucothoid amphipod from coral reefs in Raja Ampat, Indonesia (Crustacea, Amphipoda). ZooKeys 518: 51-66; doi: 10.3897/zookeys.518.9340