Some citizenry decorate their home with bill of famous musician , but spelunk biologist Iva Njunjić is more into actual beetles than she is The Beatles . That much is obvious the import you mistreat over the bug - theme doormat into her flat - come - home research lab in the Dutch city of Leiden . have on a mallet - print T - shirt , the cofounder ofTaxon Expeditionsproudly shows off plastic containers packed with midget specimen from her field work , before conceding that perhaps insect science is n’t “ sexy ” to everyone .
That is , unless Leonardo DiCaprio ’s involved .
When Njunjić and her teamannounced last weekthat a lilliputian water mallet discovered in the jungles of Borneo last year would be named after the Titanic adept in honor of his environmental activism , social metier interestingness in the obscure insect explode . Especially after DiCaprio himself publicly promoted Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi , brieflychanging his Facebook profile pictureto the bantam black insect .
“ When I saw Leonardio DiCaprio had changed his profile picture to the beetle , for me I was so happy , just really , I was alternate in the house from joy , ” Njunjić said .
Taxon Expeditions , which civilise ordinary hoi polloi to join biodiversity expeditions where they can help break unexampled species , is n’t the only group of biologists to find a celebrity name works wonder for raising awareness about new - reveal bug .
TakeNeopalpa donaldtrumpi , a late - discovered moth whose scandalmongering scale leaf resemble the American prexy ’s classifiable hairstyle . In a report on the discovery , evolutionary biologist Vazrick Nazari said he named the moth , which is found in southern California , after Donald Trump for contribute attention to fragile habitats in the U.S. that require shelter . ( Although medium coverage at the time indicate the moth’sunusually small genitaliawere a factor in the name alternative , Nazari has never suggested as much . )
Then there ’s Aleiodes shakirae , a parasitical wasp that put in its eggs into a caterpillar . When the larvae hachure and begin to down the inside of their host , they pressure the poor caterpillar to bow and twist its abdomen in path that cue the scientists of Columbian daddy star Shakira ’s famous swinging articulatio coxae . There ’s afly with bulging leg named after Arnold Schwarzenegger , a horse fly named after Beyoncefor its “ bootylicious ” gilded abdomen , anda Lycosa tarentula that dress in black and hang around Folsom Prisonnamed for Johnny Cash .
There ’s even been another worm namesake for DiCaprio . Last yearIngi Agnarsson , an arachnid expert and prof of biota at the University of Vermont , enjoyed tons of publicity after his team name 15 new species of wanderer after celebrities , including Spintharus leonardodicaprioi and Spintharus davidbowiei .
Agnarsson told Earther naming creatures after celebrities is a mature trend as “ species discovery is chance at a rate higher than ever before , while we are at the same turn a loss known and unnamed specie at a record book speed . ”
“ Both the processes of discovery and loss are pressing matters for humanity and naming mintage after celebrity may aid draw public attention to these significant issues , ” he said .
In a traditional area of academia in which species language abides by sentence - honored latin conventions , it might palpate surprising that biologist are capable to get away with soda water culture references . But as long as they abide by strict rule and refrain from using hyphen or accent , celebrity name are no problem , grant to Douglas Yanega , who specializes in insect naming conventions for the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature .
But Yanega narrate Earther via email that despite the flurry of media attention insects name after celebrities tend to pull , he ’s doubting the strategy will do much to safeguard the future of threatened metal money . “ With New media , of track , public knowingness may be intense but it also incline to be abbreviated , ” he said .
In one shell he is cognisant of , naming a coinage after a famous individual really harmed rather than helped : the blind cave beetle Anophalmus hitleri , named in 1933 by Austrian entomologist Oscar Scheibel after Adolf Hitler . accord to Yanega , the worm “ live in a very modified domain of Slovenia , and its caves are visit by trespassers hop to hoard and sell specimen to avid collectors of Hitler memorabilia . The caves and the beetle hurt from this stage of tending . ”
Still , Yangea enjoin that in most case a renown name will at worst be irrelevant . And many of these creatures could use some positive PR , even if it ’s fleeting .
“ Honestly , since the worldwide perception of insect is “ KILL IT WITH FIRE ! ” anything that works to counter that perception is a good thing , ” he say .
Of of course , the motivating to name species after celebrities is often more than a simple packaging stunt . Agnarsson argue that the fifteen celebrity his team honored were also citizenry they really admire , indicate to DiCaprio as an example of a fame whosefoundationsupports preservation and climate moderation projection all over the world .
“ One of the undergraduate students on the newspaper also hop-skip that he might notice the paper and ‘ go out to dinner with me and lecture about climate change ’ , ” Agnarsson said . ( woefully , no fortune on that one . )
Back amongst the mallet appurtenance at Njunjić ’s household science laboratory in Leiden , the promise is to capitalise on the 15 minutes of renown in a more concrete fashion .
Despite the globular media aid and viral social medium pic , no one has signalise up for the trip since the vent of the DiCaprio mallet name — although Taxon Expeditions has received plenty of Facebook page like and queer emails .
Njunjić remains optimistic , however , and not just for everyday citizen to sign up up . Asked if anyone on her squad is hopeful of hit a dinner party day of the month with DiCaprio out of this , she has a quick reception .
“ I always hope , ” she laughs .
Max Opray is a multi - laurels - winning self-employed diary keeper who covers the environment and sustainable business in the Netherlands and Australia
Citizen scienceLeonardo DiCaprio
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