Some liquid inspiration helps naming of our Sesame Street fish
Barrier reef
A newly discovered fish found at the Great Barrier Reef has been named after a Sesame Street character in one of the most Australian ways possible - after “a few drinks”.
The co-writer of a study paper on the new fish, Graham Short, told US journal Scientific America he and marine biologist David Harasti decided to name the fish Solenostomus snuffleupagus because of its striking similarity to Big Bird’s best mate on the popular children’s TV show.
“It was so easy to say, ‘Yeah, this looks like Snuffleupagus.’ I mean, it’s almost identical. It’s scary,” Short told the journal.
“We may have had a few drinks and decided to email Sesame Street Australia.”
After the show gave its blessing, the new name was decided.
Earlier this year, Harasti and Short published a paper in the Journal of Fish Biology to formally describe the new fish.
Harasti first discovered the fish - which is about as big as a golf tee - in 2003 at Papua New Guinea, but took a long time to make another sighting.
He recruited more Great Barrier Reef divers to help search for the elusive creature, which disguises itself in spots such as algae.
In 2020, Haratsi and Short finally found a male and female pair at the Reef.
