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: Pharlapiscus breviceps
Don’t get it? A seahorse named after the great Australian racehorse Phar Lap.
What is it? Seahorses. Come on, keep up - I've already told you that.
Where is it found? Australia.
When was it first named? It's hard to say - most records of Pharlapsicus see to have gone down the plughole when it was reclassified into the genus Hippocampus.
Who deserves the credit? Again, sadly lost knowledge as far as I can see. However, if you happen to stumble across any information anywhere, do let us know.
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Is there a picture? Yes, there are quite a few, none of which I can get permission to use. However, being as one seahorse looks pretty similar to another, look at this fella and imagine he's got an ever-so-slightly shorter nose. There are a bunch of really good seahorse pictures here if this hasn't fulfilled you.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
Title image: W
Main image: NOAA
Main image: NOAA
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