Star Wars’ furry character gets his due
Scientists have officially named a new coral species Iridogorgia chewbacca. Yes, after Chewbacca, for its fuzzy, long-branch look.
The coral’s flexible, shimmering branches reminded researchers of a Wookiee’s fur.
First spotted off Molokaʻi in 2006 and later near the Mariana Trench in 2016, it took years of genetic testing and structural comparisons to confirm this was something new.
Image credit: Xu Y 2025 Zootaxa via Unversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Seeing this coral for the first time was unforgettable,” Watling said. “Its long, flexible branches and shape immediately reminded me of Chewbacca. Even after years of deep-sea work, discoveries like this still make me stop and take notice.”
-Les Watling, professor emeritus in UH Mānoa’s School of Life Sciences
Some specimens reach an impressive four feet tall, with branches stretching up to fifteen inches, while smaller colonies hover around twenty inches.
Despite its shaggy appearance, each coral is actually a colony of thousands of tiny polyps working in unison.
Image credit: Xu Y 2025 Zootaxa via Unversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Beyond its Star Wars-worthy name, Iridogorgia chewbacca matters. Deep-sea corals like this act as natural archives, with their skeletons storing chemical records of ocean history.
Xu Y 2025 Zootaxa via Unversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
They also provide habitat for other mysterious sea life. And while the name is funny, it’s also a clever way to shine light on deep-sea biodiversity and why it’s worth protecting.
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