Three Newly Discovered Insects Named After Legendary Pokémons

In the world of scientific research, two entomologists have named three new Australian beetle species discoveries after legendary Pokémon birds just in time to celebrate the franchise’s 25th anniversary.

Australia National University Ph.D. student Yun Hsiao and Eastern New Mexico University entomology professor, Dr. Darren Pollock have immortalized their latest findings by naming them after Pokémon’s most powerful and famous birds. The three newly-named beetles belong to the Binburrum family with its new official Pokémon-inspired scientific names as Binburrum articuno, Binburrum moltres, and Binburrum zapdos. Aside from having physical wings, the beetles, unfortunately, bear little resemblance to the animated Legendary namesakes.

In a recent interview, Pollock explained the decision to name them after Pokémon characters, “The choice of a name for a new species is not trivial; it must be different from any other described species. One of the ways to ensure this is to make a name that nobody would ever have come up with before.” Yun adds that he was an aspiring Pokémon trainer when he was younger and considering the rarity of the species, they decided to name them after the three, also rare, Legendary Pokémon birds.

Our paper has been published online in @CanEntomologist! We review Binburrum Pyrochroidae and described 3 new species, which are named after the 3 legendary birds of #Pokémon, referring to the rareness of these species that have only few specimens @EcoEvo_ANU @CSIRO @ColeopSoc pic.twitter.com/Im0lEVCYJ2

— Yun Hsiao (蕭 昀 シャオ ユン) (@YHsiaoBeetle) January 2, 2021

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