According to a paper published last week in the zoological taxonomy journal “Zookeys” a new species of catfish has been discovered by a bunch of nerds with advanced degrees. Jonathan W. Armbruster, David C. Werneke, and Milton Tan identified three new species of saddled hypostomine loricariids which is fancy talk for catfishes.
One species in particular bears a striking resemblance to a fish faced character from the beloved world of “Star Wars.” No, not Admiral Ackbar, though it’s rumored that the scientists heard gurgles from the water and a muffled “It’s a trap” as they lowered their nets. The species in question has been dubbed P. greedoi because of its pretty uncanny resemblance to the bounty hunter Greedo. The authors wrote the following about their choice of name, “Named for Greedo of Rodia, a bounty hunter killed by Han Solo in Chalmun’s Spaceport Cantina in the movie “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (Lucasfilm, Twentieth Century Fox, 1977) with whom this species shares a remarkable resemblance.”
It’s possible that Greedo’s children left their home galaxy after their dad went out for cigarettes in Mos Eisley and never returned and over many years made their way to Earth where they reverted to a simpler form and way of life though that can’t be confirmed.
The fish was located in drainage waters surrounding Brazil and can be distinguished from other species in its genus by having well developed color and eyes and by having the abdomen largely naked posterior to the pectoral girdle giving it a perfect squishy target for blaster rounds. In addition P. greedoi’s jaw connects at an angle greater than 90 degrees making it someone of an outcast in fishy family.
Now that we know of P. greedoi’s existence, it would do well to stay away from any dusty cantinas and avoid any jobs offered by slobbering slug people.
“ZooKeys” is a peer-reviewed open access journal established in 2008 and edited by Terry Erwin of the Smithsonian. Jonathan W.Armbruster is a professor and Curator of Fishes at Auburn University, David C. Werneke is a Fish Collection Collections Manager at Auburn University, MiltonTan is a Ph.D candidate at Auburn University. The three authored the paper together, photos provided by Jonathan W. Armbruster.