Weird animals named after famous figures
What's in a name?
While there are strict rules in place for naming new species, one of the things taxonomists can get away with is naming their new discovery after a famous figure or even a fictional person or place. Some, such as Steve Irwin and David Attenborough, even have numerous species named after them. And some of these creatures are in turn exceedingly bizarre. As a biologist (and a geek), I always have a little chuckle when I encounter a drab little moth with the specific epithet 'mordor'or a lizard genus called 'Smaug' for instance. Below I will explore some of the weirder ones I've come across.
Kootenichela deppi
Named for the resemblance of its claws to Johnny Depp's in the movie Edward Scissorhands, this Cambrian era primitive arthropod is thought to have scavenged or hunted along the sea floor with its weird appendages. The scientist who named it, David Legg, admits to being a big Johnny Depp fan and couldn't resist immortalizing his hero with the find.
Irwin's turtle (Elseya irwini)
Who better to name a species after than a famous conservationist and zoologist? As it happens quite a few species have been named after Irwin. The one pictured above, Irwin's turtle, is rather unusual in being a cloacal respirator. In other words, an organism that breathes from the same orifice it uses to void waste. The turtle accomplishes this feat by use of a muscular chamber beyond the cloaca with finger-like projections (like the microvilli in your intestine) which increase surface area and blood supply, thus allowing the animal to absorb oxygen from water pumped in and out the chamber.
Even weirder is that Irwin has had a rare species of Pulmonate snail named after him as well, after the scientist who discovered it drew a connection between the khaki striping on its shell and the late conservationist. It's name? Crikey steveirwini of course. It is the only member of the genus Crikey!
Attenborosaurus
Another famous conservation figure with multiple species named after him is David Attenborough. Perhaps my favorite of these, Attenborosaurus, was initially placed in thePlesiosaurus genus but later recognized as being distinct from these. At only 5 meters, this one scales in as fairly dinky for a Plesiosaur, but you still probably wouldn't have wanted to run into one in the water.
Bagheera kiplingi
It's not only media celebrities that have had species named for them. Indeed, writers have had their fair share as well. Bagheera kiplingi, a jumping spider from Central America, was originally named from a specimen found in the 1800's. In an ironic twist, this species, named for Rudyard Kipling and his panther character of Jungle Book fame, turned out to be the only (mostly) vegetarian spider ever found when it was studied in its natural environment over a century later. Their diet consists of acacia buds and the occasional insect snack.
Leviathan melvillei
Even cooler than Kipling's vegetarian spider is the prehistoric monster whale named for Herman Melville, the author of 'Moby Dick'. Leviathan was over 13m long with 36 cm long dagger-like teeth, facts which enabled it to eat large prey, including other whales. Interestingly, Melville's book is thought to be based on the true events which occurred aboard the whaling ship Essex (and later it's life-boats). If you're interested in this back story, check out the book by Nathaniel Philbrick detailing these events (one of my favorite works of historical fiction) here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17780.In_the_Heart_of_the_Sea
Anophthalmus hitleri
Even infamous figures have had species named for them. The rare troglodytic (cave-dwelling) Hitler beetle was named by a German entomologist with a big Hitler fetish. It is found in only 15 Slovenian cave systems and now, bizarrely, is in danger of extinction due to being prized as a neo-nazi collector's item.
Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) aka The Playboy Bunny
Even Hugh Hefner has had a species named for him. The Lower Keys marsh rabbit is an endangered island dwelling sub-species named after Hefner donated money towards their conservation back in 1984. The problem the population of these rabbits is facing is a genetic bottle-neck. With only 300 individuals left, genetic diversity in the population is low. As human population associated pressures in their island home increase, it becomes more difficult for these specialist Lagomorphs to survive, as they lack the genetic diversity to (for example) take advantage of new feeding niches or adapt to living alongside humans. Current conservation efforts are focused on translocating bunnies from separate populations to a new area where they can hopefully establish a more stable population.
Well, that wraps up this look into species with strange scientific names, but there are plenty more out there to be discovered! Who would you name a new species after?
Happy Steeming people,
The Wise Fox
Sources:
https://koshersamurai.wordpress.com/category/arachnology/
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_16-5-2013-10-40-49
http://natmonitor.com/2014/06/17/science-solves-mystery-of-turtle-butt-breathing/
https://phys.org/news/2009-11-crikey-steveirwini-snail-honour-late.html
http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/a/attenborosaurus.html
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091012-vegetarian-spider.html
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/a-whale-of-a-fossil-is-named-in-honor-of-herman-melville/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/fans-exterminate-hitler-beetle-6232054.html
https://phys.org/news/2009-06-endangered-playboy-bunnies.html
Images:
- https://koshersamurai.wordpress.com/category/arachnology/
- https://wetlandinfo.ehp.qld.gov.au/wetlands/ecology/components/species/?elseya-irwini-johnstone
- https://alchetron.com/Crikey-steveirwini
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Attenborosaurus_BW.jp
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagheera_kiplingi
- https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/a-whale-of-a-fossil-is-named-in-honor-of-herman-melville
- https://www.zmescience.com/science/biology/species-named-after-celebrities/
- https://phys.org/news/2009-06-endangered-playboy-bunnies.html
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As a huge Johnny Depp fan, Kootenichela deppi has to be my favorite on your list, but the more I read, the more that was a hard choice! Your post also encouraged me to google others and I came across:
The Beyonce horse fly. The Scaptia beyonceae, a rare species of horse fly found in Queensland, Australia, was named after the American singer Beyonce, in January. Scientist Bryan Lessard said it was "the unique dense golden hairs on the fly's abdomen that led me to name this fly in honour of the performer". source
I was expecting it to be because of a rather large "abdomen" aka bum... sorry :). Loved this post!
Hahaha - yeah that was exactly what I was expecting when I read "Beyoncé fly"
And thanks :)
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Resteeming this one holo. Great stuff and as always extremely well written.
Thanks very much 🙂
I think we all would love to have somethign named after us, but of course most of us will never have that happen
Was such an interesting read about all of these
tip!
Thanks :) I think if I was the one doing the naming I'd be far more likely to make a sly reference to a favourite scifi series or some such 😄
If it was me the names would be sci-fi food or music related most pt
Great post! Can't wait to see what they're naming things in 100 years time, looks like they're already running out of ideaas!
Yeah, it'll be all people naming things after their pets or favorite breakfast cereals 😂
Or numbers?
Crab #1229z
?
I'd love to have something named after me someday- unfortunately, in geology, naming conventions are often strict about this sort of thing, and naming new stuff after yourself is strongly discouraged.
Isn't every mountain kind of already named after you? 😉
I shan't rest until there's a Mount Mountain!
Well, naming an animal that is similar to someone or an incident always makes more sense and a better visualisation, wouldn't you agree?
upvoted
For sure - I love the Edward Scissorhands arthropod :)
I am really enjoying your animal related posts. Another steemian who does quite well with his animal posts is @trumpman and I think if you used some of his tags and posted in similar areas you might get a lot more views and votes (which I think you deserve) :)
I will definitely take a look, and thank you 🙂
Resteemed your article. This article was resteemed because you are part of the New Steemians project. You can learn more about it here: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@gaman/new-steemians-project-launch
fantastic!! Don't know where you're based, but in the UK these are great "pub-quiz" facts to have at the ready :)