2023-10-23 16:30:00
The “Hitler beetle” (Anophthalmus hitleri) under an electron microscope in Germany @BELGAIMAGE
It is because of his surname, heavy to carry, thatAnophthalmus hitleri is now threatened. This small beetle measuring a few millimeters, which lives in the humid caves of Slovenia, has achieved very high prices on the insect market. According to the magazine Geothe species would today be on the verge of extinction.
And all because the collector who discovered this type of beetle in 1937, Oscar Scheibel, was an admirer of Adolf Hitler. It was to pay homage to the dictator that Scheibel named the insect afterAnophthalmus hitleri.
A name which, obviously, is all the rage (sorry) among neo-Nazis. The insect is in fact the victim of diligent hunting, to supply the collections of those nostalgic for the Third Reich, already reported The world in 2012.
Scientists want to change its name
With the species now threatened, some scientists are calling for a name change as well as a profound change in the way animal names are given.
As noted The worldspecies discoverers have relative freedom to name it.
The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature has established a normative framework imposing the name of the genus, but which is much more flexible for the epithet accompanying it. And the ICZN, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), is rather reluctant to change its procedure.
This is how a moth with a funny headdress was aptly named I hate Donald Trump in 2017, by a somewhat facetious Canadian scientist. A name barely less heavy to bear thanAnophthalmus hitleri …
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#neoNazis #threatening #species #beetle #extinction