New Species of Frog Named After Ozzy Osbourne

World, meet Dendropsophus ozzyi:

Despite the objections of Kermit and other prominent members of the frog community (Michigan J., The Duplantier Brothers, etc.), scientists have named this new species of Brazilian Amazon after Ozzy Osbourne (as you may have guessed from its name). According to National Geographic, scientists decided to christen the frog in the metal legend’s honor due to its “shrill, batlike call”:

“The male frogs also have an unusually large vocal sac, a nearly transparent piece of skin that inflates to produce its unique high-pitched chirping sound. Male tree frogs in general make loud calls to communicate with females in distant treetops, but the new species is the first known to sound like a bat.

“Once the team had brought their treasure back to the lab, ‘we kept talking about the ‘bat frog,’ which led to us talking about being fans of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath,’ [discoverer Pedro] Peloso said.”

This, of course, is a reference to the fact that Ozzy once bit the head off of a bat during a concert. In his defense, he thought the bat was rubber when he bit into it, and his error resulted in a need for rabies shots (which Ozzy probably should have had anyway — there’s no telling where that dude has been).

Rumor has it that The Ozzman is delighted to share a name with something he can actually order in a restaurant.

Osbourne follows in the footsteps of Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, who, as of 2012, shares his name with a species of tarantula. I guess no one plans to ever name anything cute or cuddly after a metal musician.

[via Metal Injection]

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