Celebrity Naming of Cryptids
Posted by: Loren Coleman on May 12th, 2008
His name is Bond, Jason Bond.
Names are important, and Eastern Carolina University professor of biology Jason Bond has decided to name a new spider he discovered after his favorite musician. You may have already heard the story. It made me wonder after whom various Cryptomundians would name cryptids found to be new species? Heuvelmans? Sanderson? Meldrum? And tied to what cryptids?
Bond’s newly discovered trapdoor spider has officially been name Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi.
Above is a male specimen of Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi living in Santa Rosa Co., Florida. (Credit: American Museum of Natural History)
“There are rather strict rules about how you name new species,” Bond said. “As long as these rules are followed you can give a new species just about any name you please. With regards to Neil Young, I really enjoy his music and have had a great appreciation of him as an activist for peace and justice.”
In 2007, Bond discovered the new spider species in Jefferson Co., Ala, and later co-wrote a paper with Norman I. Platnick, curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, on the genus.
Bond received $750,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation in 2005 and 2006 to classify the trapdoor spider species and contribute to the foundation’s Tree of Life project. He is both a spider systematist – someone who studies organisms and how they are classified – and taxonomist – someone who classifies new species.
Above is an image of a female specimen of Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi also living in Santa Rosa Co., Florida. (Credit: American Museum of Natural History)
Spiders in the trapdoor genus are distinguished on the basis of differences in genitalia, Bond said, from one species to the next. He confirmed through the spider’s DNA that the Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi is an identifiable, separate species of spider within the trapdoor genus.
Roland Piquepaille mentions that in 2005 Cornell University named several beetles after Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld. Two entomologists at Cornell University who were to name several new species of slime-mold beetles have decided to honor U.S. President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, by naming them the Agathidium bushi of Southern Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia, while the Agathidium rumsfeldi and the Agathidium cheneyi of different regions of Mexico.
Who would you honor by naming a new species after someone tied to cryptozoology? What cryptids found in the future should be tied to whom?
Sources: East Carolina University, Roland Piquepaille, and Cornell University.
Who says scientists don’t have senses of humor?
Slime-mold beetles? How utterly appropriate
im with kittenz thats hilarious well i guess they make it to the history books but not they way they wanted
i have to agree the spider is very paul young like bad tan and no singing tallent, now if we can just stuff him down a trap door and not get arrested for it
I agree, it is comical, however, from a biology teacher’s point of view, I think that the Latin names should give a rough description of the organism. Playing with celebrities’ names is fun if a common name, but not formal names. Besides, don’t the stars get enough attention already?
Homo lorencolemanensis?
How about Homo bradpittiatus?
Brad will have finally achieved something of note. (Sarcasm).
Chupacabras is Chupacbras IRSensis ( or Inlandrevenuensis in UK) - it strikes when you least expect it, bleeds you dry and leaves you to clear up the mess.
The new rorqual whale (Balaenoptera omurai) should be re-named Balaenoptera lewisnki/clintonii - it goes down regularly but doesn’t inhale.
( I know, I know, but I can get away with it because of my raffish, Cockney charm)