Rotting Christ’s Sakis and Themis Tolis have been named after a new fossil species discovery. Two researchers from the Natural History Museum in Luxembourg, Dr. Ben Thuy and Dr. Lea Numberger, recently discovered a new brittle-star species and felt the perfect name for it was “Brezinacantha Tolis,” to honor the Tolis brothers. 

Sakis Tolis comments:

“My deepest thanks to the paleontological community, and especially to Dr. Ben Thuy and Dr. Lea Numberger, to name a fossil under my name! This is one of the greatest honors I have received as an individual and musician and gives me power to keep on creating during these wild times. Brezinacantha Tolis can be found in the Natural History Museum in Maastricht. If you are close have a look!”

Dr. Ben Thuy and Dr. Lea Numberger explained their inspiration behind the name: 

“When we first saw the fossil brittle star, we immediately knew it was something exciting. It turned out to be a species new to science, and so we had the privilege to name it. With the choice of the name, we wanted to combine our joint passions for science and music, and decided to honour one of our favourite bands. The new fossil belongs to an animal that lived in a dark, toxic environment in the depths of an ancient ocean, dwelling on the remains of their dead predecessors. This is pure black metal! Naming this species after Sakis and Themis Tolis is our way to issue an academic recognition of their talent and hard work. Now they own a small piece of immortality, because scientific species names are for eternity.”