Harrison Ford just got a reptilian name. According to some researchers, there are problems with such naming.
In May 2022, researchers found an approximately 40-centimeter long snake in a mountainous area of the Peruvian jungle. It was yellowish brown and spotted with black, and its eyes shone in shades of amber.
Only very recently was it revealed that it was a previously unknown species. Scientists ironically named it Tachymenoides harrisonford after the American actor.
Harrison Ford’s played by Indiana Jones is famously scared to death of snakes.
Actually, the naming was about honoring, because Ford is actively involved in nature conservation. According to Ford himself, the snake discovery is a reminder that there is still much to learn from our wild world.
– On our planet, all destinies are intertwined, and right now a million species are threatened with extinction. We have a confidential task to repair our broken relationship with nature and protect life-sustaining environments, he states for the environmental organization Conservation International.
The rear end of the fly reminded me of Beyoncé
Typically, animals are named after celebrities in order to gain as much visibility as possible for conservation work. Wikipedia has a long list different organisms with names borrowed from celebrities.
For example, a singer Beyonce got the title insect more than a decade ago. The back end of the Scaptia beyonceae fly found in Australia is covered with golden hairs, which reminded the researcher of the flamboyantly dressed singer.
There are also Finns on the list.
Sciophila holopaineni is a mushroom vulture found in Lapland, which was named after the Nightwish band’s front image. to perform in Kenya Thaumatodryinus tuukraski -spistiäisen’s name, on the other hand, honors the hockey goaltender.
Some researchers recently highlighted problems with species naming practices. In their opinion, names derived from individuals are unnecessary, often unfounded and contradictory in terms of equality.
– Biodiversity is part of the global heritage that should not be trivialized, an international group of researchers writes in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
The politics of naming may also cause problems. Already in the last century, a glaring example was offered by a blind beetle, which a German researcher crossed Anophthalmus hitler i.e. “Hitler’s eyesless”.
Ford looks at the researchers’ solutions
Modern naming of organisms originates from Swedish Carl von Linné of the scientific classification developed by It is tradition not to exchange names.
The Peruvian snake is the most recent example of the continuation of a long naming practice. It’s actually not the first animal to be named after Harrison Ford.
Conservation International reminds us that already in 1993, the California spider species was renamed Calponia harrisonford. A decade later, a new species of ant became Pheidole harrisonfordi.
The actor himself reacted to the matter with humor. He wonders why scientists keep naming creatures after him that scare children.
– I do not understand. I spend my free time doing cross stitches. I sing lullabies to my basil plants so they don’t get scared at night, she tells Conservation International message service in X.