A newly discovered beetle species has been named by a scientist after Greta Thunberg, a young climate activist from Sweden.
Scientist Dr. Michael Darby named the new beetle species Nelloptodes gretae because he was “immensely impressed” with Greta Thunberg and her environmental campaigning. The beetle is less than 1 millimeter long and has no wings or eyes but has two long pigtail-like antennae.
William Block first discovered the beetle N. gretae in Kenya in the 1960s and donated his samples to the Natural History Museum in London in 1978. It has been stored as part of one of the museum's collections ever since.
While studying this collection, Dr. Darby came across the then-nameless species and decided to name the beetle after Thurnberg because he "wanted to acknowledge her outstanding contribution in raising awareness of environmental issues". It has now been named formally in the Entomologist's Monthly Magazine.
Dr. Max Barclay, the museum's senior curator in charge of beetles, believe that the name was appropriate because "it is likely that undiscovered species are being lost all the time, before scientists have even named them, because of biodiversity loss".
Barclay added: "So it is appropriate to name one of the newest discoveries after someone who has worked so hard to champion the natural world and protect vulnerable species.”
In the past, scientists have named newly discovered species after celebrities due to various reasons. There is currently a parasite named after Bob Marley, Gnathia marleyi, and a genus of fish called after Richard Dawkins, Dawkinsia. Sometimes scientists name the animals after people they admire or celebrities known to be fond of that animal, such as the spider called Spintharus leonardodicaprioi and the lemur named after John Cleese, Avahi cleesei.
In 2018, because of US President Donald Trump’s stand about climate change, an amphibian that buries its head in the sand was called Dermophis donaldtrumpi.
