Gollumjapyx smeagol

[Child of the 7th Age]

Well, I wasn't quite sure where to put this on the site. We definitely don't have an earlier thread on this so I guess it's an announcement.....

A new insect has been named after the character Gollum. For a copy of the scientific abstract, see here. If you'd like to see Gollum's lineage in the official classification system (kingdom, phyllum, and those details), take a look here.


Spanish scientists discovered the invertebrate insect in the caves of Castellon province. It's apparently of prehistoric origin. Its official name is Gollumjapyx Smeagol. The scientists said they were giving it this name to honor J.R.R. Tolkien (thank goodness, not Peter Jackson! )

The new animal is of exterior origin, but has adapted to permanent living inside caves (just like Gollum). The new invertebrate has all the properties of a subterranean insect: its skin has no pigment. It has large antennae, six feet, and measures two centimeters in length.

According to Vicente Ortuño, who headed the expedition, the first examples of this new species were found some 25 years ago, but the recent investigations have verified the existance of the creature and allowed it to be more precisely classified. . Professor Ortuño added that there was a certain tradition to name subterranean species after mythological characters, "but in this case we referred to modern mythology."

Interesting that this Professor should refer to LotR as "modern mythology". I think JRRT would have been pleased.