The 'marvel-ous' connection: All about taking names on the fly
Abit more thought could have gone into the monikers for the new insect species.
By ET Bureau |
iStock
Given that in 1991, DC Comics created The Fly, a superhero based, in turn, on the identically named character launched in 1959 by Red Circle Comics, it is ironic that actual ‘super flies’ have been given monikers taken from the rival camp, Marvel Comics.
Obviously, the literary predilections of researchers have an inordinately large bearing on the naming of species and the 165 christened recently are no exception. The reason given for anointing four Australian flies with the names Deadpool, Thor, Loki and Black Widow is that they bear an uncanny resemblance to those Marvel Comics characters.
Even the fly named after the late legendary comic book author Stan Lee apparently has a similar white moustache. That is not surprising, as a moth was named Neopalpa donaldtrumpi in 2017 for its distinctive blonde head.
The ‘marvel-ous’ connection is less evident in the flies’ official names — Deadpool’s is Humorolethalis sergius, Latin for moist and dead, for instance — but a nod to DC by naming one at least one super fly Jasonus Troyus would have been gracious.
Of course, countless species remain unnamed, so there is scope to accommodate many more comic book superheroes — and even real ones. It may be recalled that in October 2019, a beetle with two pigtail-like antennae was named Nelloptodes gretae after climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Obviously, the literary predilections of researchers have an inordinately large bearing on the naming of species and the 165 christened recently are no exception. The reason given for anointing four Australian flies with the names Deadpool, Thor, Loki and Black Widow is that they bear an uncanny resemblance to those Marvel Comics characters.
Even the fly named after the late legendary comic book author Stan Lee apparently has a similar white moustache. That is not surprising, as a moth was named Neopalpa donaldtrumpi in 2017 for its distinctive blonde head.
The ‘marvel-ous’ connection is less evident in the flies’ official names — Deadpool’s is Humorolethalis sergius, Latin for moist and dead, for instance — but a nod to DC by naming one at least one super fly Jasonus Troyus would have been gracious.
Of course, countless species remain unnamed, so there is scope to accommodate many more comic book superheroes — and even real ones. It may be recalled that in October 2019, a beetle with two pigtail-like antennae was named Nelloptodes gretae after climate activist Greta Thunberg.
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