Australian scientists on Wednesday said that they have given five fly species scientific names that pay tribute to the Marvel comic universe, including one named after wise-cracking anti-hero Deadpool and another after Marvel’s superhero creator Stan Lee.
The five flies were part of 165 discoveries named by the scientists over the past year, which included two species of fish, three subspecies of bird and even a mite that lives on a lizard, the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) said in a report.
“Naming a species is the first step to understanding that species,” CSIRO insect expert Bryan Lessard said. ”Without a scientific name, these species are invisible to science.”
The Stan Lee fly was named for its characteristic facial markings that resemble the comic titan’s dark sunglasses and white mustache, while the Deadpool fly has marks on its back that resemble the Marvel character’s red-and-black mask, CSIRO said.
“We chose the name Humorolethalis sergius,” Lessard said, referring to the Deadpool fly. “It sounds like lethal humor and is derived from the Latin words humorosus, meaning wet or moist, and lethalis meaning dead.”
All five species are robber flies, which are assassins of the insect world, CSIRO said.
The other three are named for Marvel characters Loki, Thor and Black Widow.
Naming new species is fun, but can also be vital for saving human lives and conserving the species, CSIRO bee and wasp expert Juanita Rodriguez Arrieta said.
“We discovered a new species of spider wasp that is only found in an area badly impacted by bushfires this summer, so now we can carefully monitor its recovery,” Rodriguez Arrieta said.“Spider wasps have venom that could be useful for treating Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy.”
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