Otocinclus batmani (Batman)

In 2007, ichthyologist Pablo Lehmann named a newly discovered species of catfish after the caped crusader. Why? Because, if you look closely at the tail, you can see the Bat Symbol. Now visitors flock to Loon Lake in Antioch, Illinois each summer to try to catch the fish.

Tarbosaurus efremovi (Ivan Yefremov)

Soviet writer Ivan Yefremov is most famous for his works of science fiction (most notably the communist utopian novel Andromeda Nebula), but he was also a paleontologist. Perhaps that's why a Russian paleontologist named this species of Tarbosaurus (a near cousin of the Tyrannosauri) after the author.

Arthurdactylus conandoylei (Arthur Conan Doyle)

Writing a book about dinosaurs is a good way to get a reptile named after you, even if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had to wait 82 years after the publication of The Lost World for it to happen. In 1994, paleontologist Eberhard Frey and David Matrill named an entire genus of pterosaur after the author, who described a similar creature in his novel.

Irritator Challengeri (Professor Challenger)

A second dinosaur named for The Lost World, I. challengeri is named for Doyle's irritable dilettante Professor Challenger. Perhaps appropriately, I. challengeri could have eaten A. conandoylei for breakfast; a fossilized tooth from its genus was once discovered lodged in a pterosaur's neck.

Draculoides bramstokeri (Bram Stoker)

If you're going to name a critter after the author of Dracula, it had better be a bloodsucker. This Australian arachnid is known for its fang-like pedipalps, which it uses to grab and crush prey before sucking out their tasty juices. As an added bonus, this sucker lives in the darkness of caves.

Orsonwelles (Orson Welles)

Arachnologist Gusavo Hormiga named this genus of gigantic spider after writer and director Orson Welles simply because Welles was a giant of filmmaking (we're assured this is meant metaphorically). The individual species' names are subtle references to Welles' work, such as O. Bellum for War of the Worlds, O. Malas for Touch of Evil, and O. Toledus for Citizen Kane.

Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei (Arthur C. Clarke)

2001 author Arthur C. Clarke has a slew of things named for him and his creations: the asteroid 4923 Clarke, the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter, and, of course, the Clarke awards. Having a species of dinosaur named after him is just icing on the namesake cake.

Borogovia (Borogoves - The Jabberwocky)

Perhaps as an attempt to lend more meaning to Lewis Carroll's famous nonsense poem, the paleontologists who named these smaller, carnivorous dinosaurs named them after the borogoves in the opening verse:

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Dracorex Hogwartsia (Hogwarts School of Wizardry)

When a 66 million year-old dinosaur that looks like a dragon was discovered in South Dakota, paleontologists decided it would be at home in the Harry Potter universe, naming it "The Dragon King of Hogwarts" after the school of wizardry. J.K. Rowling agreed that the beast looked familiar, like "a slightly less pyromaniac Hungarian Horntail."

Leucothoe tolkieni (JRR Tolkien)

There is actually no shortage of critters named for Tolkien's creations, from a hairy-footed beetle named Pericompsus bilbo to the hexapod Gollumjapyx smeagol. But the tiny shrimp-like crustacean L. tokieni is named for the man himself.

Gojirasaurus (Gojira)

It's probably not surprising that someone would eventually name a dinosaur after Japan's giant reptilian monster. But you would think they would have chosen a larger creature; Gojirasaurus is a mere 6.5 meters tall, and would tower over a human, but not the city of Tokyo.

Godzilliidae (Gojira)

Of course, this family of blind crustaceans from the class Remipedia makes Gojirasaurus look like Godzilla. It also contains two Gojira-themed geni: Godzillius, the largest of the remipedes, and Godzilligonomus, the smallest.

Pleomothra (Mothra)

Evidentally, naming remipede crustaceans after Japanese monsters became something of a convention, as another genus in the Godzilliidae family was named after the flying menace Mothra.

Sinemys gamera (Gamera)

At least Gamera was named for a creature he might actually be related to. S. gamera is a turtle from the Cretaceous Period. Though the species may have existed in Japan, the S. gamera fossils were actually found in Inner Mongolia.

Hortipes terminator (Terminator)

The Hortipes are a genus of tiny spiders that live in the soil of sub-Saharan Africa. The H. terminator was reportedly so named because the males' appendages resemble a futuristic gun.

Balnibarbi (Balnibarbi - Gulliver's Travels

Another common source of scientific names is Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Oddly enough, this genus of trilobites gets its name from Balnibarbi, a country where science is used for foolish ends.

Laputavis (Laputa - Gulliver's Travels)

The Laputavis seems a more apt name from Jonathan Swift. Not only does it make sense to name an extinct bird for the flying castle in Gulliver's Travels, it's also a bit of a pun, as the Laputavis are related to swifts.

Sadly, no image of Laputavis was available. This is its distant relative, an Alpine Swift.

Holorusia brobdingnagia (Brobdingnags - Gulliver's Travels)

Brobdingnag is the country of giants — giant people, giant rats, giant insects. The H. brobdingnagia crane fly isn't quite as large as similar creatures in Brogdingnag (which were said to be as large as cats), but they're still sizable and annoying pests.

Jurassosaurus Nedegoapeferima (Jurassic Park)

This ankylosaurus is named not just for the film Jurassic Park, but for the cast as well. The species name is made up of letters from the actors' surnames: Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sir Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, Ariana Richards, and Joseph Mazzello. Ultimately, the genus name Jurassosaurus was dropped in favor of Tianchisaurus, but the movie-inspired species name stuck.

Conus tribblei (Tribbles - Star Trek)

You would think a species named after the fuzzy, procreation-happy pets from the original Star Trek series would be furry. Instead, we get predator sea snails. As it turns out, C. tribblei isn't named directly for the fictional pet, but for discoverer Jerry Walls actual pet, a cat named "Tribbles."

Bidenichthys beeblebroxi (Zaphod Beeblebrox - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Though you can't see it on this species of triplefin blenny (a close relation), B. bebblroxi has a false head pattern on its scales, earning it a moniker similar to that of Douglas Adams' funny two-headed alien.

Erechthias beeblebroxi (Zaphod Beeblebrox - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Once again not seen here on this related species, but the E. beeblebroxi moth's pattern create the illusion of a second head, adding it to Zaphod's two-headed naming pile.

Fiordichthys slartibartfasti (Slartibartfast - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Planet designer Slartibartfast has a particular affinity for making coastlines, especially the fjords of Norway. So this particular fishy, found only in the Fiordland of New Zealand was named in his honor.

Ninjemys (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

This horned turtle of Pleistocene epoch gets its radical name from the sewer-dwelling mutants of New York. Sadly, its existence predates the invention of the pepperoni pizza, so it was forced to live on a diet of plants.

Morlockia Garcia-Valdecasas (Morlocks - The Time Machine)

The subterranean Morlocks from H.G. Wells get their own troglodyte species named for them, a remipede crustacean found in the caves of the Bahamas.

Pimoa Cthulhu (The Call of Cthulhu)

You might have expected that a species named after Lovecraft's unspeakable horror would be a cephalopod of some kind, or at least something frighteningly monstrous. Instead, we get an ordinary American spider, one that isn't even poisonous to humans.

Han solo (Han Solo)

Giving this trilobite species the name Han solo was an excuse not only to name a creature after a character from Star Wars, but also to make a terrible pun. H. solo, is, after all, the sole member of the genus Han. Incidentally, Harrison Ford has two species named after him, the spieder Calponia harrisonfordi and the ant Pheidole harrisonfordi.

Agathidium vaderi (Darth Vader)

If there's one person that biologists can't resist naming critters after, it's Darth Vader. And entymologists Kelly Miller and Quentin Wheeler particularly love assigning beetles in the Agathidium genus unusual names. Other Agathidium species include A. bushi, A. cheneyi, and A. rumsfeldi. A. vaderi in particular gets its name from its shiny, helmet-like head.

Darthvaderum (Darth Vader)

Apparently, this genus of orbited mites got its name when the entomologist who discovered them took one look and thought of the Sith Lord.

Polemistus chewbacca, P. vaderi, and P. yoda (Chewbacca, Darth Vader, and Yoda)

It's not entirely clear why entomologists Arnold Menke and David Vincent decided to name their newly-discovered wasp species after characters from Star Wars. Apparently, they're just big fans.

Alex Wild, who took these photographs, is a scientist who researches ants. He also happens to be an extremely talented photographer who always manages to capture both the danger and the beauty of the insect world. While he has a number of gorgeous ant portraits, I think his most stunning work comes in action photos like these, where ants are battling it out with other insects. That ant stinging the centipede, by the way, isn't killing the centipede. She's just paralyzing it so that the larvae in her hive can munch on it while it's still really fresh.


Here you can see a very strange encounter between a fly and an ant that was wandering up a tree. Wild says he saw flies landing on the ants, holding them against the tree for a few seconds, and then flying away. He couldn't figure out what was going on until he used the magnifying action of his camera lens to get a good look at what the bugs were doing. It turned out the flies were mugging the ants, pinning them down and stealing their food.


Most flies take their attacks on ants far beyond mugging, however. These flies use ants as incubators for their larvae, using a canulated organ called an ovipositor to inject eggs into the ant's abdomen. Eventually the baby flies eat their way out of the ant's body, getting a lot of nourishment but killing the insect in the process. In this photo, you can see the fly injecting her eggs into the ant.

If you want to see more of Wild's exceptionally cool insect photography, including some friendly pictures that do not involve muggings or deadly injections, check out his blog Photo Synthesis.

Though scientists have known for a long time that the mosquito whine is a mating call, a group of Cornell researchers has revealed that there's more to the blood-sucking bugs' love songs than previously thought. They aren't just whining at each other - they are also engaging in a pretty sophisticated call-and-response ritual that involves changing the timing of their wingbeats.

The two songs, which you can hear clearly in this slomo video, become a kind of duet. The duet is generated just before the couple starts mating, and researchers say it "settles at around 1,200 hertz — roughly an octave and a half above concert A, the pitch to which instruments are tuned."

According to a summary of the research, published today in Science:

To study mosquito mating calls, the researchers tethered mosquitoes and flew them past each other while recording the flight tones with a special microphone. Co-first author Benjamin Arthur, a postdoctoral researcher in Hoy's laboratory, placed electrodes in the mosquitoes' auditory organ in their antennae during playback to measure physiological responses of the mosquitoes to the sounds of potential mates.

So making a mosquito porn movie is a little bit more technically complex than making one with humans. But don't worry - the researchers aren't just doing this as a mosquito marital aid. It's actually part of a plot to destroy the mosquito population.

Says researcher Lauren Cator:

By studying these flight tone signals, we may be able to determine what kind of information males and females consider important when choosing a mate. This will allow us to release 'sexy' transgenic or sterilized males that will be able to successfully compete with wild populations.

Basically, she's saying they want to breed the sexiest mosquitoes imaginable and then make them sterile, so that wild mosquitoes will hump them without breeding more of those foxy, blood-drinking whiners.

In other words: Mosquito eugenics FTW.

SOURCE: Science Magazine

Illinois entomologist Gene Robinson and his colleagues say this "enthusiasm" manifests itself when the bees perform their "waggle dances" (pictured) that communicate the location of food to other bees. These dances, full of highly specific movements, are performed in a "dance floor" area of the hive and show the other bees which direction to fly to get food. Usually bees only perform these dances when they've discovered a particularly choice or plentiful source of nectar. But bees on coke perform the waggle dances far more often, which Robinson interprets as altruistic behavior.

Scientists believe that the bees' cocaine-fueled dances are evidence that bees have a reward system in their brains that gets triggered by the drug. And this is where things get interesting.

One theory of altruism holds that it's a co-optation of the brain's reward system. The idea is that creatures evolved to behave altruistically when their selfish reward systems became involved in social behaviors. Robinson points out that behaving altruistically often excites the reward centers of the human brain.

Now he's proven that bees have a reward system in their brains too - and that they've undergone the same evolutionary shift as humans, using that reward system to fuel altruism.

Said Robinson:

This study provides strong support for the idea that bees have a reward system, that it's been co-opted and it's now involved in a social behavior, which motivates them to tell their hive mates about the food that they've found.

Bees also seem to go through withdrawal when they have been given cocaine regularly and then are deprived of it.

This means bee brains are closer to being like human brains than we thought, at least in some respects. More importantly, it means that cocaine makes us all nicer, more giving people - at least until we get sober again.

SOURCE: The Journal of Experimental Biology

Image via HowStuffWorks.com.

Among these hopping insects, it's not uncommon for the males to travel up to 90 meters per night searching for a mate, which would be the equivalent of a human man walking 7 kilometers per night in search of a lady friend. Size does matter among the weta — it's just that being lightweight allows the male to show off his walking prowess much better than a large body would. Female wetas tend to walk much less, and when they do find a little male they like, they spend the whole next day mating with him nonstop.

How do we know this, you ask? Apparently our group of researchers, who hail from Toronto, put microchips on male and female wetas and tracked them. Then, when these researchers found the mating wetas, they counted the empty sperm packets called "spermatophores" that were piled up around them. Then they could estimate whether weta who walked further got more chances with the old spermataphores. Know what I mean? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge?

Said researcher Clint Kelly:

Our findings are a rare example of sexual selection favoring a suite of traits that promote greater mobility in one sex only. This is exciting because it suggests that sexual selection for smaller, more mobile males could be responsible for some of the impressive sexual difference in body size in this species.

It also shows why sometimes a small man and a big woman make the very best pair. Weta portrait via New Zealand Department of Conservation.

Sexual Selection for Male Mobility [via American Naturalist]

A group of researchers observing this Brazilian insect drama in the wild say it's the first time they've been able to prove scientifically that parasites essentially mind-control their hosts to ensure the parasites' survival.

According to a release from PLoS One:

Inside the caterpillar host, a cruel drama takes place: the eggs of the parasitoid hatch and the larvae feed on the body fluids of the host. The caterpillar continues feeding, moving and growing like its unparasitized brothers and sisters. When the parasitoid larvae are full-grown, they emerge together through the host's skin, and start pupating nearby. Unlike many other combinations of host and parasitoid, the host remains alive but displays spectacular changes in its behaviour: it stops feeding and remains close to the parasitoid pupae. Moreover, it defends the parasitoid pupae against approaching predators with violent head-swings.

The caterpillar dies soon after the adult parasitoids emerge from their pupae, so there can be no benefit whatsoever for the caterpillars . . . The research team found that, in the field, parasitoid pupae which were guarded by caterpillars suffered half as much predation as those which had no bodyguard. Hence, the behavioural changes of the host result in increased survival of the parasitoids.

In other words, this caterpillar is made to love those wasps so much that it will protect them at all costs, including its own life. Now imagine if these researchers decided to figure out whether this wasp behavior mod could be ported to the human brain. A squirt of wasp juice could make you a super soldier, willing to give your life to protect whatever your "parasite" might be.

Parasitoid Increases Survival of Its Pupae By Inducing Host to Fight Predators [PLoS One via Science Daily] (Thanks, Brian!)