According to a press release from the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Dr. Riehl and his colleague Dr. Bart de Smet chose the name not just as a tribute to Metallica, nor as a play on words regarding the species’ metallic habitat. They discovered Macrostylis metallicola  in the abyss of the Northern Pacific Ocean in the Clarion Clipperton Zone, which sits between Hawaii and Mexico, while conducting studies as part of a larger environmental impact assessment. The manganese nodules on which the crustacean lives “contain valuable compounds, such as cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel and rare-earth elements,” which means the ocean floor could be mined to access the minerals, which are needed to create in-demand metals used as a result of “population growth, urbanization and clean-energy technology.” 

Dr. Riehl notes that many people aren’t aware of the biodiversity found in the deepest parts of the ocean. The life there is part of the ocean’s food webs as well as larger systems that feed into climate control. Dr. Riehl hopes that even if this kind of mining has to happen, it will be done in a way that prioritizes sustainability while implementing good management and protections for vulnerable areas in order to “conserve biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.” There’s also the possibility that his tribute to Metallica raises the public’s awareness of these environmental issues. Here’s hoping.