Phthiria relativitae

[Jay]

It's a fly species. <br><br>I saw an article in the NY times about naming animals. I didn't know biologists were allowed to do this sort of thing; I would have figured that colleagues that take things too seriously would frown upon it. Do you think this has much potential as a forum game? <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... iggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> <br><br>The site requires login, so...<br><!--QuoteBegin--> <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'><b>Quote:</b> </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> <span style='color:red'>[edited where I just forking had to]</span><br><br>Ba Humbugi!<br>Let's Nameus That Speciesus!<br>[illustration should be attached]<br>[arthropods], from left to right: Gustavo Hormiga; F. Christian Thompson; President and Fellows of Harvard College<br><br>By HENRY FOUNTAIN<br>Published: February 20, 2005<br><br><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>WHAT'S in a name?</span><br><br>If you're a tiny creature native to the Indian subcontinent, exactly 36 vowels and consonants. That's what it takes to spell Prolasioptera aeschynanthusperottetii, a primitive fly discovered by an Indian entomologist, M. S. Mani, in 1943.<br><br>The hefty name may be just about the only thing unusual about P. aeschynanthusperottetii, an otherwise forgettable insect. But it is hardly the most unusual name in the animal kingdom. (It isn't even the longest: another fly weighs in at 42 letters.)<br><br>Scientists may be serious people, engaged in the pursuit of objective truth. But when it comes to naming species, they often let their hair down.<br><br>So the insect world has Heerz tooya, Apopyllus now and Pieza pi and Pieza rhea, among thousands of puns and other oddities. (In science, all creatures are binomial, with a capitalized genus name followed by a lower-case species name.) The oceans are home to Ittibittium, a genus of mollusks that are smaller than those named Bittium. There are species named for body parts and bodily functions, for celebrities, painters and writers, for cartoon characters and favorite sports. For those who find it to be all too much, there is even Ba humbugi, a snail from Fiji.<br><br>Since the scientist who discovers a species gets the right to name it, the lay public doesn't often have a chance to join in the fun. But the Wildlife Conservation Society announced this month that it would auction off the naming rights to a new species of monkey found in Bolivia. The money raised by the auction (beginning Thursday at www.charityfolks.com) will go to wildlife protection in that country.<br><br>So, to the victor goes the spelling. And just about any spelling goes.<br><br>"We have a code of ethics - no names that could be offensive on any grounds," said Neal L. Evenhuis, an entomologist at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu and current president of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, which oversees the naming process (similar groups exist for plants and bacteria). Beyond that, and requirements for Latinizing certain words, the person naming a species has wide leeway.<br><br>Dr. Evenhuis has taken some of that leeway himself with several of the more than 500 species of insects he has named. The flies Pieza pi and Pieza rhea are his creations, as are Pieza deresistans (relying on an alternative pronunciation of the genus name) and his personal favorite, Phthiria relativitae.<br><br>"It's not that I'm desperate," Dr. Evenhuis said. "I just have this streak of levity. Not all names have to necessarily be kind of boring."<br><br>Others, however, are desperate. The problem is there are too many species. Well over one million animal species have been described, and millions more are awaiting discovery. And there are still many known species that no one has had the time to name yet. "There are not enough taxonomists to go around," Dr. Evenhuis said.<br><br>While some scientists try to follow the traditional practice of incorporating an organism's characteristics into its name, others give up and try something else. So there are creatures from Aa to Zyzzyx. There are the palindromic names Ababa and Xela alex. There's a species for every Tom, Dick and Harry: Ptomaspis, Dikenaspis and Ariaspis. There are several moth species that easily could have come from that novelty song "The Name Game": bobana, momana, fofana. These and other unusual names have been compiled by Mark Isaak and are available at his Web site, <a href='http://home.earthlink.net/~misaak/taxonomy.html' target='_blank'>http://home.earthlink.net/~misaak/taxon ... >Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table> <!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Muninn]

It is real apparently, Gary Larson (of Far Side fame) has an insect named after him as well.<br><br><!--QuoteBegin-Excerpt from Dale H. Clayton's (Uni. of Chicago) letter to Gary Larson+--> <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'><b>Quote:</b> (Excerpt from Dale H. Clayton's (Uni. of Chicago) letter to Gary Larson)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> As you may know, it is common practice for entomologists to name new species of insects after collegues, relatives, friends, enemies, and people in the public eye. I decided long ago that you of all people should be honoured in this manner. With your permission, I would like to name a new species of insect after you. There's a catch, however. I do not work on cute insects. I am a specialist on the order Mallophaga, the "chewing lice". ... "Your" species, <i>Strigiphilus garylarsoni</i>, belongs to a genus found only in owls. ... It is simply meant to honour the enormous contribution that my collegues and I feel you have made to biology through your cartoons.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table> <!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Burning Sheep Productions]

It'd be neat to have one called Ozy anmillius or something...