''Cosberella lamaralexanderi'', or the Lamar Alexander springtail, is a species of

springtail Springtails (class Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern Hexapoda, hexapods that are no longer considered insects. Although the three lineages are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have in ...

s native to the southern

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was discovered in 2006 by Dr. Earnest Bernard in

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the southeastern United States, southeast, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline o ...

. He named it in honor of U.S. Senator

Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

because of his support of scientific research funding in the park and because the springtails' patterning is reminiscent of the plaid shirts that Alexander typically wears while campaigning.Scientists Name Insect Species After Sen. Lamar Alexander
".

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. November 24, 2007. Via WVLT TV (Knoxville, Tennessee). wvlt.tv. Retrieved 2018-02-17.

References

External links

*
Picture of ''C. lamaralexanderi''
Poduromorpha Fauna of the Southeastern United States Natural history of the Great Smoky Mountains Animals described in 2006 Great Smoky Mountains National Park {{Springtail-stub