LINCOLN, Neb. | A Nebraska entomologist has identified three of his eight newest beetle discoveries in honor of the dragons from the HBO series “Game of Thrones” and George R.R. Martin book series “A Song of Ice and Fire.”
University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor Brett Ratcliffe named the new scarab beetle species drogoni, rhaegali and viserion. The labels are Latinized versions of Drogon, Rhaegal and Vision, three dragons owned by Daenerys Targaryen’s character in the fictional work.
Radcliffe has long been a fan of the series, and said he chose the names to attract attention to biodiversity and the amount of undiscovered species.
“When you create names like these, you do it to gain a little bit of notoriety and bring public attention to it,” Ratcliffe said. “We’re still discovering life on Earth. One of every four living things on Earth is a beetle. We haven’t discovered them all. We’re not even close.”
Ratcliffe said he’s identified hundreds of species over his 50-year career and creating new names becomes isn’t always easy. Naming rules recommend against using humor or insults, and are especially useful to avoid having duplicate names, he said.
Ratcliffe said he went with the pop culture reference to have a little bit of fun.
“I’ve often thought that scientists take themselves too seriously,” Ratcliffe said, “and this is a way to circumvent that.”
Drogoni and viserioni can be found in Colombia and Ecuador, while rhaegali is in the French Guiana. All three have orange features.
