Scientists love Game of Thrones. First, researchers named a pair of ants after Daenerys’ dragons. Then it was a pair of deep-sea worms named after Arya and Hodor. Now University of Nebraska-Lincoln entomologist Brett Ratcliffe has circled back to dragons and named a trio of scarab beetles after Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal. Meet Gymnetis drogoni, Gymnetis rhaegali and Gymnetis viserioni, first of their name:
Drogoni and viserioni can be found in Colombia and Ecuador, while rhaegali is native to French Guiana. In the cast of these three, their orange features suggest House Targaryen’s greatest weapon: dragonfire.
Ratcliffe, who has named hundreds of species of beetles during his career, is a fan of the show. Although naming newly discovered species using humor or pop culture references is frowned upon, Ratcliffe wanted to harness the show’s immense popularity to bring attention to his work. “When you create names like these, you do it to gain a little bit of notoriety and bring public attention to it,” he said. “We’re still discovering life on Earth. One of every four living things on Earth is a beetle. We haven’t discovered them all. We’re not even close.”
It’s hardly Ratcliffe’s first “offense” when naming is concerned. Per the Lincoln Journal Star, in 1976, Ratcliffe named a beetle the Strategus longichomperus, after its long pincers. And in 1992, he named a June bug Cyclocephala nodanotherwon — “not another one.” We love it. “I’ve often thought that scientists take themselves too seriously,” Ratcliffe said, “and this is a way to circumvent that.”
At least one other person is a fan of this Game of Thrones naming craze: George R.R. Martin, the creator of A Song of Ice and Fire.
Keep up the good work, scientists.
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h/t Huffington Post
