This Colbert-named arthropod series is in good company. There is a wealth of homage, wordplay, and good ol’ scientist shenanigans hiding beneath the latinized genus and species names of formal biological nomenclature. Here are a few highlights.


3. The Theory of Relativity fly. There’s something undeniably cool about a bombyliid fly homage to a theory. Though the fly itself is going strong, the Phthiria relativitae name is no more. It has been reclassified to another genus which, disappointingly, sounds nothing like “general” or “special”.

5. The ramones trilobites. Mackenziurus johnnyi, M. joeyi, M. deedeei, M. ceejayi; someone is having a lot of fun naming trilobites. The paleozoic arthropod’s roster also include homages John, Paul, and Ringo (but not George), Simon and Garfunkel, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, all of the Sex Pistols, and the Norasaphus monroeae, which bears an hourglass-shaped forehead organ.

7. The Monty Python. Montypythonoides riversleighensis, a fossil snake, was named for the famous comedy group. Unfortunately, the genus has become defunct, and this triumph of reference is now known as Morelia riversleighensis. Hopefully avahi cleesei, the John Cleese lemur, proves a more enduring tribute.
8. The Hitler Beetle. Sources vary as to whether this blind cave beetle was named by an admirer or detractor, but either way the name was a raw deal for the beetle itself. The already-rare Anophthalmus hitleri has been picked into endangerment by collectors of Hitler memorabilia. Perhaps biologists could come up with a clever name that causes a winnowing of the collectors, as well.

9. Hugh Hefner bunny. Sylvilagus palustris hefneri was named as much for philanthropy as philandering. Hefner's Playboy bunny money funded the wildlife research that identified this endangered Florida marsh rabbit.
10. Star Wars. This movie franchise alone has spawned enough biological names to fill the Mos Eisley Cantina. There are the wasps, Polemistus chewbacca, P. vaderi, and P. yoda. Then the Darth Vader beetle, Agathidium vaderi. Then the Darthvaderum mite. There’s Albunione yoda, the sand crab parasite. And of course, the Han Solo trilobite. Unfortunately, nobody has yet named a member of Leia, the fungus gnat genus, after Leia Organa. Entomologists, what are you waiting for?
Comments