Pokemon has proven to be popular with countless people from all different backgrounds all over the world. From kids to adults, rich to poor, and everyone in between; including the occasional PhD student of the systematics and paleontology of beetles.
One particular Pokemon fan/PhD student named Yun Hsiao has recently made an interesting discovery in Australia. He classified three new species of rare Binburrum beetles, and he gave them the most interesting names.
According to a paper he published on the topic, the beetles’ actual, official, real, scientific names are Binburrum articuno, Binburrum zapdos, and Binburrum moltres. He specifically named them after the Legendary Pokemon Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. These beetles can’t be found in Kanto though; Binburrum articuno is found in southeastern South Australia, Binburrum zapdos is found in northeastern Queensland, and Binburrum moltres is found in northeastern Queensland; all in Australia.
Like the shiny variations of the Galarian forms of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, each of the three beetle species has a interesting and unique color variation that sets it apart from its cousins. Binburrum articuno is a sort of silvery grey, while Binburrum zapdos is has black wings and a golden prothorax, finally Binburrum moltres has a golden upper body while its lower half is black. According to Hsiao, the beetles are so rare that there are only a few specimens exists of each species. He gave them the names Binburrum articuno, Binburrum zapdos, and Binburrum moltres in order to “highlight the diversity of the genus.”
Video games have long had a place in scientific studies, such as teaching pigs how to play games. This especially is a really fun way to get people into science and learning more about nature. And it isn’t the first time a scientist has named one of their discoveries after a Pokemon. There is also the protein Pikachurin and the Aerodactylus dinosaur. Binburrum articuno, Binburrum zapdos, and Binburrum moltres have already gotten a lot more attention on the internet than they would have ever probably gotten if they were given more traditional scientific names.
While being named after Pokemon is interesting, none of these beetles really has anything to do with Articuno, Zapdos, or Moltres or their newly revealed Galarian forms. The beetles don’t generate heat, cold, or electricity, and they haven’t evolved to be fireproof, to live in exceptionally cold areas, or to live in power plants. Giving real animals names derived from pop culture could be seen as flippant by some.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are available now on Switch.
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