That there are spiders with the names of the actors who have played Spider-Man, that Thanos is also a dinosaur or that there is a Dementor wasp are more than enough evidence to prove a fact: Today’s scientists are geeks by and by.
His fans of The Lord of the rings, Stan Lee comics, Pokémon … and, inevitably, they are inspired by their hobbies to name new species of animals.
Here is a good sample.
Spiders inspired by Spider-Men
There are three spiders whose names are tributes to Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, actors who have played Peter Parker / Spider-Man. These spiders are: Filistata maguirei, Maguimithrax spinoaiaaimua and the Pritha garfieldi.
Despite Parker becoming Spider-Man after a spider bite, These three spiders are good people, they are not poisonous or pose a risk to humans. So if you are looking for the spider that gives you super powers, you will have to continue investigating.
No spiders have yet been found with names inspired by Tom Holland, the Spidey actual.
Lord of species
There are a lot of animal species with the name interpreters or derived in homage to Tolkien, the writer of The Lord of the rings. Take note: Khamul tolkeini, Leucothoe tolkieni, Martesia tolkieni and Shireplitis tolkieni. Part by part.
For starters, the wasp Khamul tolkeini hide another easter egg. Khamûl is the name of one of the Nazgûl, specifically it is the second most powerful after the Witch King. Normal that a wasp has been given that name, sinister as they are!
The Leucothoe tolkieni It is a small crustacean that was discovered in 1990. All things considered, he looks like Gollum or seems to have started to receive the negative effects of wearing the One Ring.
Although there are no exact images of the Martesia tolkieni, yes you can imagine what this bivalve mollusk looks like from its relative, the Martesia striata.
Finally, the Shireplitis tolkieni It is another wasp with a curious name. And is that this species of wasp is native to New Zealand, where it was filmed The Lord of the rings. In English, The Shire, the region of the Hobbits, is The Shire. So all the wasps Shireplitis They have La Comarca in their name. What a pretty. To top it off, all of these wasps have names inspired by multiple characters in the series.
45 photos of animals that you will believe are not real because of the curious poses of the protagonists
But that is not all. There is a frog named Breviceps bagginsi in homage to Bilbo Baggins (Bilbo Baggins in English), the beetle Macrostyphlus gandalf or a bee nicknamed Gimlia in honor of the most famous dwarf in Middle-earth.
Curiously there are a lot of species whose names are inspired by that of Gollum / Sméagol. There is a fish called Gollum to dry. Another fish is called Gollumoid galaxies. A wasp is called Smeagolia, a toad is called Ingerophrynus smeagol…
The midichlorians of Star Wars exist
Have you trembled when you heard the word midichlorians? Normal, this microscopic life form that in theory is behind the Force was one of the big mistakes of the prequel trilogy of Star Wars. The Force has to be a mystical element; the more realistic you try to do, the less funny it will be.
Nonetheless, midichlorians seem to exist on Earth. Specifically, in 2014 a bacterial spore was discovered that was initially called IricES1, but what ended up calling Midichloria in homage to Star Wars. So now you know: you may have midichlorians in you. Try to grab the closest glass with the Force. And if it works, don’t go to the Dark Side!
But this is not the only scientific nod to Star Wars. There are so many examples that I would give for an entire article, so here are some curiosities. The Wookiee, Chewbacca’s race, also exist in your world courtesy of the Trigonopterus chewbacca, a weevil that was recently discovered in New Guinea.
Remember Padmé Amidala’s wacky hairstyles? His style inspired the discoverers of the extinct Xenokeryx amidalae, a distant relative of giraffes. Their curious horns could set a new fad on Coruscant.
Finally, the Force is powerful in the world of ants. In 2012 it was decided to call Tetramorium jedi to some new ants discovered in Madagascar. “This new species is named after the guardians of the peace created by George Lucas”, its discoverers explained in the scientific journal Zootaxa.
5 animals that have become extinct in the last decade
The prehistoric supervillain
In 2019, Thanos arrived in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, snapped his fingers, and fiction changed forever. Not only do geeks remember the Mad Titan; Scientists Rafael Delcourt and Fabiano Videos Iori recently discovered a new type of theropod, a carnivorous dinosaur, near São José do Rio Preto. What name did they give it? Thanos simonattoi.
But the wielder of the Infinity Gauntlet is not the only one in this section. In the world of entomology, Dr. Bryan Lessard is so good at discovering new flies that he has a superhero name on social media: Bry the Fly Guy (Bry the Fly Man). Many of the flies he discovers have Marvel-inspired names.
For example, the fly Humorolethalis sergius can be translated as “Lethal humor” in reference to Deadpool, the mutant of Marvel who lets go of jokes while charging the staff. It even has markings similar to its mask.
The Humorolethalis It is part of a set of new Australian flies with marvelitas names:
- The Daptolestes leei His last name is Stan Lee because he even has the same glasses and mustache
- The Daptolestes bronteflavus can be translated as “blond thunder” in reference to Thor
- The Daptolestes illusiolautus means “elegant deception” in reference to Loki, brother of Thor and God of Deception
- The Daptolestes feminategus means “woman wearing leather” because she looks like Black Widow
At this rate, it makes for a movie by The Avengers but only with flies.
The Earth Pokédex
You’ve probably heard recently that the trio of Legendary Birds from the Pokémon universe (Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres) have inspired Darren Pollock and Yun Hsiao, from the University of New Mexico East, to name three new species of beetles: Binburrum articuno, Binburrum zapdos and Binburrum moltres. Not subtle at all!
In the case of the relationship between Pokémon and science, there is an unprecedented reciprocity of ideas in other geek examples. For example, pterodactyls and their fossils inspired Pokémon creators to create an extinct Pokémon, Aerodactyl.
But then the reverse happened: In 2014, the fossils of a new type of pterosaur (“winged lizards”) were found and it was decided to call it Aerodactylus. The circle is closing!
8 pokémon that take their inspiration from real world creatures and have a more than surprising resemblance
Now, what is the most popular Pokémon among fans of the franchise? Charizard, one of the first Pokémon that Ash Ketchum had in anime and that usually crowns the annual polls.
To no one’s surprise, there is an insect called Charizard: it is the bee Chilicola charizard. It is endemic to Chile, it does not give off fire like its Pokémon partner, but it does live in the mountains (the favorite region of the Charizard) and it has draconian horns and wide legs that bear a certain resemblance.
In 2018, a group of ant scientists launched a survey for the public to decide the names of five new species discovered. Virtually all the available options were from Pokémon, and the scientists themselves tried to “manipulate” the voters (they were actually very open about their attempt) so they bet by Tapus, in homage to a type of Pokémon known as Tapu.
In Pokémon games, 893 species currently have to be found and captured to complete the Pokédex. If you think it is difficult … Try to find all the species that remain to be discovered on Earth!
“You’re a ̶m̶a̶g̶o̶ crab, Harry”
If you are a fan of the Harry Potter books or movies, it may be that when you think about the relationship between Potter and his teacher Severus Snape, you will come up with adjectives like “cloudy” or “complicated”. Although these two characters only managed a brief moment of reconciliation at the end of it all, science has managed to unite them forever in the form of a crab: the Harryplax severus It was discovered in 2015 and it is quietly roaming the coast of Guam, oblivious to all the controversy that its name implies.
If you’ve ever had nightmares about Dementors, Soulless creatures that absorb the happiness and intelligence of their victims, you may not like to know that they exist in real life. They are not spirits, but they are one of the vilest and coldest beings on Earth: a wasp. The Ampulex dementor injects a lethal dose of neutoroxins into his victims to turn them into his puppets. Good thing they only exist in pocket size.
Lest you be left with Dementorian chills, here’s a warmer example. Remember the Sorting Hat? New Hogwarts students put it in their heads to find out their home (Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw). Remember his trademark sloppy sorcerer hat shape?
Well, there is a spider that seems to be wearing its own Microscopic Sorting Hat. It’s called Eriovixia Gryffindori and it’s a cucada.
Don’t try to put the spider on your head for that. The only one who will get a house if you do is her.
Cajonus desastricus (the inevitable scientific miscellany section)
If you are a fan of Doctor Who and of his paradoxical adventures through space-time, the Zygons will surely sound familiar to you. They are the favorite villains of David Tennant, the actor who played the 10th doctor due to his peculiar lifestyle: they alter their shape to replicate the appearance of another species and thus be able to survive on the planet of turn without being discovered.
Zyngons could be considered parasites, right? So it is not surprising that in 2019 a parasitic wasp was discovered that went by the name of Choeras zygon.
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Sponge Bob. And who lives on the soil of the Malaysian National Park? Spongiforma squarepantsii, a type of mushroom with a shape similar to that of the Nickelodeon cartoon character (SpongeBob is called SpongeBob SquarePants in English). Also because although this fungus is not a sponge, it behaves as such: you can squeeze the water out of it and it will regain its normal shape.
There is a way to find out that biologist Andre Nemesio is a geek from The Big Bang Theory. In 2012, he revealed to the public a new type of Brazilian bee, which he named Euglossa bazinga. Nemesio clarified that the bazinga of the name was not only to honor Sheldon Cooper and his favorite word, but it was his attempt to attract media attention to a type of insect whose habitat was being destroyed at high speed. Great way to unite geek with environmental awareness.
As the final icing, a pinch of Studio Ghibli. The Bus Cat that appears in the animated film My neighbor totoro inspired researcher Gwen Pearson to call a new type of worm Eoperipatus totoros. Pearson explained in his day to Wired That name came to him after seeing the worm walking with its legs out of sync, like the curious vehicle in the movie.
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