Photo: Courtesy of HBO.
We're in such a Game of Thrones drought that we'll take any news related to the series, even if only tangentially so. While the show won't return to HBO until spring, it continues to make its influence felt throughout culture in unexpected but palpable ways. We found out that "Arya" was the fastest rising name for baby girls in 2012, and now our beloved Daenerys of Targaryen is getting a namesake of her own. Apparently, the northeast coast of Brazil is home to a newly discovered sea slug that closely resembles the lovely Mother of Dragons. That lucky slug is now known as Tritonia khaleesi.
In a paper documenting the discovery, researchers Felipe de Vasconcelos Silva, Victor Manuel De Azevedoa, and Helena Matthews-Cascona found a similarity in the "pale plumes" of the slug and the ultra-flaxen braids of GoT's Khaleesi (of the Great Grass Sea). More specifically, they thought the slug's elegant, slender body and silver banded notum were particularly reminiscent of the character's hair in the last show of the first season. No word on what Emilia Clarke has to say on the matter, but when scientific discourse is evolving its language to reflect your image, you know you've got an iconic character on your hands. Now, of course, all we need is a constellation named in tribute to the fallen Stark family (#RIP). (Wired)