Nutty Nomenclature
All species of organism are given their own specific name by the taxonomist who first describes them. Every now and again the taxonomists allow themselves to have a little bit of fun. This is our guide to some more mischievously named species.
Name: Hexidonis garfieldi
Don’t get it? Garfield? Ah come one, you've heard of Garfield.
What is it? A cat mite (also known as a chigger).
Where is it found? The city of Corpus Christie, Texas.
When was it first named? 1997
Who deserves the credit? Entomologist M. Lee Goff and Texas vet Richard McKown.
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Is there a picture? There's no photo of Garfield's own mite, but it probably looks very similar to this one, except a bit more waxy. Hexidionis garfieldi lives in the ear canal of cats, which makes them officially grim. Hexidionis mites and their close cousins in the genus Trombicula have a variety of peculiar names including Hexidionis navajoae, Trombicula jessiemae, Trombicula allredi, Trombicula polytechnica and my favourite Trombicula doremi (as in the annoying Sound of Music song, doe, a deer, a female deer etc etc). Check out some other weird species names here.
Null's other regular features:
Monday: Phunny Phobias
Wednesday: Doctor Doctor
Thursday: Peculiar Periodicals
Friday: End of week timewasters
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