A scientist in the UK has honoured the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg by naming a new species of beetle after her.
Nelloptodes gretae is less than a millimetre in length, and is among a group of some of the world's smallest known animals.
A sample of the species in question was originally collected from soil in Kenya between 1964 and 1965 by entomologist William Brock.
The soil sample had been stored in the UK Natural History Museum's collections, and now following analysis using high-powered microscopes the tiny beetle has been identified as a new species.
Michael Darby, scientific associate at the museum, said he wanted to recognise Greta Thunberg's work as a "great advocate for saving the planet".
He explained: 'The family that I work on are some of the smallest known free-living creatures.
"They are not parasitic and are not living inside other creatures. Few of them measure more than a millimetre long."
Mr Darby added: "I suspect that this could very well be the first time a species has been named after Greta.
"I don't know of any other beetle named after her, that's for sure.
"I'd also like to stress that I've not named this species after Greta because it is small - it's just that this is the group that I work on.'
16-year-old Greta Thunberg first rose to prominence last year for leading the school strikes for the climate.
Greta Thunberg, the 16 year-old Swedish climate activists. (Photo by Michael Nigro/Sipa USA)The Swedish teenager has since become one of the world's leading climate activists, with the school strikes spreading to hundreds of cities worldwide.
Greta herself has met a number of world leaders and addressed a UN climate summit as part of her efforts to urge officials to take urgent action on the climate emergency.
