Two entomologists decided to name their recently discovered new species of Australian beetle Binburrum Articuno, Binburrum moltres, and Binburrum zapdos, Pokémon comes full circle back to what originally inspired the hit video game series.
In the world of scientific research, those who do the hard work to provide new knowledge can name it, and in the case of entomology, Eastern New Mexico University Professor Dr. Darren Pollock and Australian National University Ph.D. Student Yun Hsiao, which meant immortalizing her latest beetle discoveries with the names of three of Pokémon’s most famous and powerful birds.
“I met a Taiwanese entomology student named Yun Hsiao about 5 or 6 years ago,” Pollock told Eastern New Mexico University press in an interview last week. “When he first contacted me it was very obvious that he knew his (bug) stuff and was very excited about some of the same things that I was.”
During his PhD In Studies, Pollock discovered a new genus of beetles, which he continued to name. “Binburrum. “Recently, Hsiao discovered several different beetles of the same genus when collecting specimens for his own work. The new beetles were so evident that The two decided to work together to document and name them for a paper published in The Canadian Entomologist.
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“Choosing a name for a new species is not trivial. It has to be different from any other species described, ”said Pollock. “One way to ensure this is to make a name that no one would have come up with before.”
He went on:
Yun says he was an aspiring Pokémon trainer from a young age. Due to the rarity of the specimens of the three new species, he suggested naming them after the three legendary bird-type Pokémon. Of course, I thought that was a great idea, and so are the new species that were introduced to the world in 2020 Binburrum Articuno, Binburrum Moltres and Binburrum zapdos – All with Hsiao and Pollock as authors. We already have plans to describe more new species of this genus that have appeared since the paper was finalized, with perhaps more Pokémon names.
The big irony here is that that Pokémon The series itself was partially inspired by collecting insects. Game Freak Co-Founder and Pokémon Director Satoshi Tajiri was famous for growing up insects that his classmates made him “Mr. Bug. “Inspired by his childhood love for insect collecting and his later passion for video games, Tajiri finally came up with the idea of a Game Boy game where players could collect creatures and fight against each other six years later Pokémon Red and green were released.
Now life is mimicking art and the names of its creatures are used to better catalog wildlife in the real world.
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