October• 2018 | 93who discover a new species can basi-
cally call it whatever they want, as long
as they use the correct genus name.
For example, some scientists name a
new species after a loved one or an-
other scientist; it’s frowned upon to
name it after themselves. Agnarsson’s
team called one spider Spintharus
skelly, after a researcher’s cat, Skelly.
he only real problem, he said, would
be if a scientist w g to receivePHOTOS FROM LEFT: COURTESY INGI AGNARSSON; SHUTTERSTOCK; COURTESY KAROLYN DARROW/NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATIONAL HISTORY
FOR YEARS, PEOPLE have been nam-
ing their pets – and their kids, in some
cases – after pop icons they love. In
2016, the name Khaleesi, in honour of
the Game of hrones character, was in
the top 50 baby girl names in the US.
Scientists, too, are constantly nam-
ing newly discovered species after
celebs. But these names might carry
a little bit more weight: while a baby
named Khaleesi can get older and de-
cide to legally change her name, sci-
entiic names go down in the history
books. here’s the Agra schwarzeneg-
geri beetle, named after Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s biceps; the Aleiodes
shakirae wasp, named after Sha-
kira’s hip and belly dance move-
ments; and the list goes on.
Turns out, there is a method
to this seemingly mad nomen-
clature. Sometimes having a
recognisable name attached
to what might otherwise be an
unremarkable little creature is the
only way for the species to get wide-
spread attention. The latest case in
point: In September 2017, researchers
announced the discovery of 15 new
species of spiders in the Caribbean.
They named three of them after
Leonardo DiCaprio, David Bowie,
and Michelle Obama.
Spider expert Ingi Agnarsson, an
associate professor of biology at the
University of Vermont, was the lead
researcher of the Caribbean study
published in Zoological Journal of the
Linnean Society. He says scientistsAGRA
SCHWARZENEGGERI
is a beetle with bulging
legs that look like
buf bicepsany sort of potential benefit. For
example, if a corporation paid a lab
to name a species microsofti. (Even
when the names don’t have tradi-
tional Latin translations, Latin-ifying
names for species is a common prac-
tice in science. Generally, just add an
i if it’s a masculine name and an ae if
it’s feminine.)
Agnarsson, along with four stu-
dents who participated in the
research, named spiders after prom-
inent advocates for animal conserva-
tion and action on climate change.