Behold the Beyonce fly: Researchers named a fly after world renowned singer Beyonce
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 6:36:13 by Zeeshan Gohar
Behold the Beyonce fly: Researchers named a fly after world renowned singer Beyonce
A rare horse fly has been named after Beyonce by the Australian researchers due to its impressive golden behind. The fly called, The Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae fly, was found in far
north Queensland and widely considered a pest. The fly has an unusual gold patch on its abdomen which beautifies the insect. The researchers collected The Scaptia (Plinthina) beyonceae fly in 1981, birth year of Beyonce.
Australia’s science agency, CSIRO’s Bryan Lessard said, “It was the unique dense golden hairs on the fly’s abdomen that led me to name this fly in honour of the performer Beyoncé as well
as giving me the chance to demonstrate the fun side of taxonomy – the naming of species.”
He added, “Most Australian Scaptia species have been described, however these five new species of a sub-group [plinthina] have been housed in Australian collections since the group was
last studied in the 1960s.”
The International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature set the name according to the rules set by the organisation which allows for species to receive names honouring people, including
celebrities. Some other species were dubbed in honour of celebrities such as a frog, Hyla stingi, was named after Sting and a spider, Pachygnatha zappa, was named after Frank Zappa.
The CSIRO has contacted Beyonce for a response but she has not replied to their call yet. The description of the Scaptia beyonceae horse fly is published in the Australian Journal of Entomology.
The Scaptia beyonceae horse fly is considered a pest but it helps to pollinate a wide variety of plants.
Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=9542
Posted by Zeeshan Gohar
on Jan 17 2012. Filed under Sci-Tech.
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