A species of centipede that was discovered bears the name of mega-star Taylor Swift, a species of moth is reminiscent of former US President Donald Trump because of its yellowish-white scales, and climate protection activist Greta Thunberg not only got a small beetle, but also a snail and a frog. Biology offers a wide range of possibilities when it comes to naming newly discovered species after stars and asterisks.
The publicity-laden naming usually serves a specific purpose. Because if a species or genus is also named after Udo Lindenberg among the hundreds of newly discovered spiders every year, the range naturally increases. Celebrities have to give up their names for this advertising without being asked. A discoverer just has to follow a certain pattern: first comes the (uppercase) genus, then the (lowercase) species.
Any examples? Some of the recent “baptisms”
– A species of butterflies reminiscent of the villain Sauron from the fantasy book series “Lord of the Rings”. Why? Because of their striking pattern of black rings on a yellow background on the animals’ wings. According to the Natural History Museum in London, the rings resemble the all-seeing Eye of Sauron from the books by J.R.R. tolkien “Giving these butterflies an unusual name helps draw attention to this under-recognized group,” said the museum’s butterfly curator, Blanca Huertas.
– Australian spider researchers have immortalized the Swedish cult band on behalf of a group of orb-weaver spiders. Abba is one of the favorite bands of the two scientists Volker Framenau and Pedro Castanheira from Murdoch University in Perth, the university explains. “The genre name honors the Swedish pop group Abba, whose songs and subsequent musicals Mamma Mia! (2008) and Mamma Mia – Here We Go Again! (2018) provided hours of entertainment for the authors,” the study by the two researchers says in the journal “Evolutionary Systematics”.
– Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann can see a species of wasp named after him: the wasp “Aphanogmus kretschmanni” is tiny, parasitic and has spines on its abdomen. “I think it’s great that he is committed to nature conservation and biodiversity,” says wasp discoverer Marina Moser, explaining the naming process. The wasp species found in Tübingen and researched in Stuttgart is also, like the head of government, “an important citizen of Baden-Württemberg”.
– A type of sea crab has borne the name of left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht since last year. The scientific naming of the red crab as Cherax wagenknechtae goes back to the marine animal expert Christian Lukhaup from Waiblingen near Stuttgart, who discovered the animal during a stay in Indonesia. The politician inspired him to fight resolutely for a better and fairer future, Lukhaup explains his choice of name.
– An animal no longer has to be alive to commemorate a celebrity: scientists have named the fossil of a vampire squid after US President Joe Biden. The approximately 328-million-year-old piece discovered in the US state of Montana was donated to the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada in 1988 and then sat in a drawer there for a long time, reports the New York Times, citing Christopher Whalen, a paleontologist at American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Along with colleague Neil Landman, Whalen named the fossil “Syllipsimopodi bideni” to commemorate Biden’s presidency and because they were encouraged by his plans to address climate change and advance scientific research, Whalen was quoted as saying.
– The latest addition to the namesake for animal baptisms is the Hollywood actor Harrison Ford, known for his role as the legendary cinema archaeologist hero “Indiana Jones”. A snake species from the Andes of Peru discovered in May with the scientific name “Tachymenoides harrisonfordi” is named after him. Ford’s commitment to nature conservation is recognized, said snake expert Edgar Lehr. Not only. “Of course, we also draw a little attention to the animals and to the fact that countless species are still undiscovered,” said Lehr, who led the research team in Peru.
