Star Wars has reached the deep sea as a new-to-science species has been named in honor of Chewbacca, everyone’s favourite Wookiee. A type of coral , it was first discovered on the seabed in Hawaiʻi and then seen again near the Mariana Trench. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

As well as his characteristic growl, Chewbacca is famously fluffy. It seems fitting, then, that he should be the inspiration for the naming of an outrageously fluffy coral. That “fluff” is actually branches coming off its body, and it took co-author Les Watling, professor emeritus in UH Mānoa’s School of Life Sciences, completely by surprise.

“Seeing this coral for the first time was unforgettable,” Watling said in a statement . “Its long, flex

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