New species of moth named after Donald Trump
Species discovered in museum collection
Donald Trump's name won't just go down in history as the 45th president of the United States. He'll be forever remembered in taxonomy, as the namesake of a newly discovered species of moth.
The new moth — named Neopalpa donaldtrumpi — is just the second belonging to a genus of twirler moths.
Vazrick Nazari, an evolutionary biologist and an expert in taxonomy, discovered the species while going through specimens borrowed from the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California. He decided to name it after Trump based on the yellowish-white scales found on the head of the adults, which, he said, resembles Trump's hair.
Unlike the real Trump, Neopalpa donaldtrumpi isn't native to New York. Instead, it can be found in California, Baja California and even Mexico.
It is found in highly urbanized and populated areas, and its habitat is under serious threat.
In a release, Nazari said that he hopes by naming it after Trump that it will bring more public attention and interest to understanding what he believes to be the "neglected micro-fauna component of the North American biodiversity."
In December, a new species of fish found only in the coral of a marine-protected area was named to honour U.S. President Barack Obama, who had recently expanded the area.
The research was published in the journal ZooKeys.