Robert Irwin Is 'Thrilled and Honored' for New Snail Species Discovered in Australia to Be Named After Him

Robert Irwin is following in the footsteps of his family by getting a creature named after him!

On April 21, the 20-year-old conservationist and son of Steve Irwin announced he had a newly discovered snail species in Australia named after him on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Per a press release obtained by PEOPLE from the Australia Zoo, the new species, discovered in south Queensland, was dubbed by scientists the “Robert Irwin’s Banded Snail” — or “Figuladra robertirwini L. Stanisic,” in scientific terms — and is one of four species of land snails discovered within the camaenids group of forest and rock snails, according to the release.

Scientists said they decided to bestow this honor to the conservationist due to his “love for wildlife and the natural world” — something Robert said is so important to him.

"I am incredibly thrilled and honored to have a new species of snail named after me,” he said in a statement in the release. “This recognition is so meaningful and I hope to draw attention to the importance of protecting all species, even those on a much smaller scale.” 

In photos shared by the Australia Zoo, the new snail species appeared to have a dark coloring. The snail’s body had a dark brown hue and its shell featured both black, dark brown and light brown colors. 

The new snail species was discovered thanks to a new study conducted by Dr. Lorelle Stanisic, Dr. John Stanisic OAM and Dr. Frank Köhler, in collaboration with Queensland Museum and Griffith University, which sought to identify the different land snails. It utilized “dissections of reproductive structures and DNA analyses of animal tissue” to finally identify the species. 

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"Lorelle's study, which was primarily based on dissections of reproductive structures and DNA analyses of animal tissue, was finally able to determine the true identity of 15 species of Figuladra. Four of these were new to science, one being Robert Irwin's Banded Snail." 

Robert follows in the footsteps of his family members, including sister Bindi Irwin, who previously had a “tiny charopid land snail” named after her, and their father Steve Irwin, who had the rare and endangered Crikey steveirwini (Steve Irwin’s Treesnail) named after him.

The Robert Irwin’s Banded Snail can be found in “dry vine thickets” north of the Kolan River in Australia to the Many Peaks Range in South East Queensland, according to the release. However, the scientists and Robert said the creatures are under threat from land-clearing projects and other factors.

“So much of my environmental work is based around habitat preservation and even though this is a new species, we already know habitat destruction is one of the leading threats to this species,” Robert said in a separate video posted to TikTok. “I love snails and they are definitely in need of our protection.”

Dr. Stanisic added, per the release: "Land clearing regimes which are substantial in Queensland, along with the drying of our continent, places land snails under threat, and their conservation should be a high priority.”