'Why'd it have to be snakes?': Harrison Ford has new Peruvian snake species named after him

Indiana Jones actor, Harrison Ford, now has a new species of snake named after him.

The Peruvian reptile is known scientifically as Tachymenoides harrisonfordi.

It has been named after Ford to honour his environmental work. Ford, who is vice chair of non-profit group Conservation International, said it was "humbling". "These scientists keep naming critters after me, but it's always the ones that terrify children," Ford told Conservation International. "I don't understand. I spend my free time cross-stitching. I sing lullabies to my basil plants, so they won't fear the night."

However, Ford admits, that unlike his character, he likes snakes and "found a quick kinship with this one".

"The snake's got eyes you can drown in, and he spends most of the day sunning himself by a pool of dirty water - we probably would've been friends in the early '60s," the Star Wars star said.

"In all seriousness, this discovery is humbling. It's a reminder that there's still so much to learn about our wild world - and that humans are one small part of an impossibly vast biosphere.

"On this planet, all fates are intertwined, and right now, one million species are teetering on the edge of oblivion. We have an existential mandate to mend our broken relationship with nature and protect the places that sustain life."

The actor also has a spider - Calponia harrisonfordi - and a species of ant - Pheidole harrisonfordi - named after him.

Tachymenoides harrisonfordi is a small snake, measuring just 16 inches fully grown and was discovered in a joint collaboration between researchers from Peru and the United States and was made in Peru's Otishi National Park.

It is well-camouflaged but harmless to humans, with a diet consisting of lizards and frogs.

Edgar Lehr, the biologist who led the expedition that discovered the snake, said: "Discovering a new species, naming it, and introducing it to the world is a beautiful and necessary activity.

"With the name, we want to honour Harrison Ford as an actor and conservationist, and we hope to create awareness that there are remote areas in the world left where we do not know its species.

"Only species that are known can be protected."