Indiana Jones will need to conquer one of his greatest fears, and fast, because the iconic and ever-charismatic Harrison Ford just got a new species of reptile named after him, and it will undeniably try to slither its way into his heart.
Ford, a vice chair at Conservation International, is the inspiration behind naming a new type of snake discovered in the Andes Mountains in Peru. The slinky and wriggly creature might not be the favorite of our beloved hero, Indiana Jones, but Ford himself is quite humbled by the honor of having a new species named after him.
People shared the following quote from Ford, in which he says that the discovery is something truly special to his heart:
“In all seriousness, this discovery is humbling. It’s a reminder that there’s still so much to learn about our wild world — and that humans are one small part of an impossibly vast biosphere. On this planet, all fates are intertwined, and right now, one million species are teetering on the edge of oblivion. We have an existential mandate to mend our broken relationship with nature and protect the places that sustain life.”
While it’s an honor to have a snake named after him, Ford is a little bit confused regarding the fact that he’s three for three in creatures named after him that are spooky and frightening. He exclaimed that he’s the kind of guy who spends his downtime “cross-stitching. I sing lullabies to my basil plants, so they won’t fear the night.”
You read that right; Ford sings to his basil plants so they’re not scared of the dark — as if we needed a reason to love him more. Of course, Ford doesn’t feel a sense of fear or horror when thinking of snakes, spiders, and ants; it all lends to the idea that he values all inhabitants of this wild world.
Conservation International shared the following information about the new breed of snake, Tachymenoides harrisonfordi:
“Tachymenoides harrisonfordi is a slender snake, measuring a modest 16 inches when fully grown. The well-camouflaged predator is harmless to humans, though it does have an appetite for lizards and frogs. While the diminutive reptile itself is hardly the stuff of adventure films, its discovery took researchers on a pulse-pounding journey worthy of Hollywood.”
The harmless-to-humans snake is glorious as it slithers with a bronze body and accents that are black and gold; researchers say that the Tachymenoides harrisonfordi’s eyes are amber, and Conservational International, along with those who discovered the species are hopeful that Ford’s relation to it will serve as a way to encourage people to learn more about reptiles and to keep on a path of discovering the unknown.
