Ridiculous Scientific Names #5 - Darth Vader's and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Beetles

Welcome to another post of my Ridiculous Scientific Names series, where I introduce you to some of the weirdest and wackiest scientific names given to animals, along with the origins of those names. 

Today you are in for a treat cause I have for you two ridiculously named animals, one beetle named after Darth Vader (Agathidium Vaderi) and one beetle named after Arnold Schwarzenegger. The latter one was suggested to me by @laylahsophia so you can thank her for that one :)

Now, let's learn more about these two creatures and why they were named that way! 

Agathidium Vaderi

The Darth Vader beetle is a small, 3mm long beetle found in North Carolina. The creature was named that way in 2005 by entomologists Kelly B. Miller and Quentin D. Wheeler, who back then worked for Cornell University.

But why was it named after the Dark Sith Lord? Here's what Wheeler had to say:

"Unlike its relatives, it eats the jelly-like immature slime mold by crawling around in deep leaf litter at high elevations, where it does not need to see or fly. It is wingless and its eyes reduced to mere slits across the front of its head. Because of its shiny head with those eyes, we named it after Darth Vader." (source)

Can't see the resemblance? Here's another photo, they are virtually indistinguishable:

A. vaderi (credit)

Interestingly, back when A. vaderi was named the researchers had to name a total of 65 new Agathidium species that they had discovered. They also named a few after George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfel so here are three more ridiculous scientific names for you:

• A. bushi 
• A. rumsfeldi
• A. cheneyi  

And no, unlike A. Vaderi these names were chosen "out of admiration for their principles, not because they look like the beetles. " 

And speaking of Darth Vader, there is also Darthvaderum greensladeae, an Australian mite named by G.S. Hunt in 1996. Again, they look like twins!

(credit)

Now, let's move on to the next ridiculously named creature of the day...

Agra schwarzeneggeri

This little guy was named after actor and bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger due to "its markedly developed (biceps-like) middle femora of the males of this species reminiscent of the actor's physique." 

The holotype was collected in Costa Rica and was scientifically described in 2002.

Here's a comparison photo, again the two look like two drops of water:

(credit)

There's really not much to say about this animal so I guess this concludes today's post. Feel free to check my previous posts to check out some other weirdly named creatures:

• Animals Named After Donald Trump
• The Bernie Sanders Spider 
• Tritonia khaleesi, Queen of the Nudibranches and the Sea Slugs 
• A beetle called Hitler

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