Scientists have discovered a crustacean species on the coral reefs of Raja Ampat, that they are now naming after Sir Elton John.

While conducting research in Indonesia, they found a creature L. eltoni that was unraveled within another marine invertebrate which is called “commensal association,” a term, used for a parasitic relationship in which the host is not harmed, nor benefited.

Dr. Thomas was so amazed by the amphipod’s unusual form that he found it fit to name it after the musician and actor, Sir Elton John, according to Bulletin Leader.

The team proceeded to extract the creature to bring it back for more observation which is when the concluded that it was in fact a new species.

James Thomas is from the Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography in Florida. He decided to name the species after Sir Elton John because he listened to his music in his lab his entire career.

“So, when this uncommon crustacean with a enormously enlarged appendage appeared underneath my microscope after a day of accumulating, a picture of the footwear Elton John wore because the Pinball Wizard got here to thoughts”.

The new species has also been reported most recently in Hawaii, but as in invasive species.

“A number of years in the past I used to be ed by scientists from the Bishop Museum in Honolulu to assist determine an uncommon amphipod that they had collected”, stated Thomas.

They said that the amphipod found in Hawaii was in fact the same species they found in Indonesia. Thomas and his team have assumed that the creature was transported by another tunicate, or sponge, attached to a large floating drydock to Hawaii from the Philippines.

“Such studies show the importance of regular environmental monitoring, especially in tropical environments”, said Thomas, who hopes discoveries like this will help provide greater information on reef health.