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Extinct brittle stars named after death metal bands

Brittle stars clinging to mussels. These specimen are about the same size as the Silurian echinoderms named after metal bands.
Brittle stars clinging to mussels. These specimen are about the same size as the Silurian echinoderms named after metal bands. (Photo: LEA D. NUMBERGER-THUY)

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered thirteen new species of extinct brittle stars on the island of Gotland, Sweden. The fossils were dug out of rocks from the Silurian Period (around 444 to 419 million years ago). The species have now been named after several famous hard rock musicians and bands.

Ophiuroids are a group of echinoderms closely related to starfish. Their bodies consist of a central disc from which five thin, snake-like arms extend. The class comprises over 2,000 different species, which live in and on the seafloor of the world’s oceans.

The newly discovered species have been named after several hard rock legends in a new study published in the European Journal of Taxonomy by a team of researchers, which includes members from Lund University. Kansas, Doro, Archspire, Immolation, Obituary, Ian Paice from Deep Purple, Tomas Haake from Meshuggah and John Bonham from Led Zeppelin are just a few examples of what the ophiuroids would have been called if they were still around in our oceans.

“We had a lot of fun working on this study. It was a challenge to place the different species in the correct chronological order, following both the evolution of the species and of metal as a genre,” says Mats E. Eriksson, professor of geology at Lund University.

Together, the scientists have a long tradition of naming extinct fossils after their musical heroes, with previous examples ranging from Rammstein, Rotting Christ, and Avatar, to King Diamond, Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse), and Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead.

While this might not necessarily appeal to everybody, we simply want to honor people from the metal community who have had a hugely positive, cultural impact on our lives, and to combine our love for nature and the arts,” he says.

The study focuses on thirteen species of ophiuroids that lived during the Silurian Period. During this time, the scientists managed to detect a marked change in the species’ body size and composition. The size reduction forced a structural simplification of the animal’s skeleton. This, in turn, resulted in the body shape that characterises ophiuroids today.

“This evolutionary change coincided with a global marine crisis, the so-called Mulde Event, which led to the extinction of many animal groups as well as changes in seawater chemistry. With that in mind, the new death metal-inspired names seem perfectly reasonable,” says Mats E. Eriksson.

In addition to Lund University, the National History Museum Luxembourg was part of the project.