Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum here, and I'm here today to tell you
Speaker 1: that an oddball catfish species first spotted in Brazil at
Speaker 1: last has a name, and it is Grito. Yes, as
Speaker 1: in the Rhodean bounty hunter in Star Wars. More formally,
Speaker 1: the catfish whose bug eyed stare and droopy chin like
Speaker 1: extension really do bring to mind. Grito will henceforth be
Speaker 1: known as Pacaldia grito I. That final e sound in
Speaker 1: Latin is a possessive, so it means something like Grito's
Speaker 1: fish one. Dr Jonathan Armbrester, professor and curator of Fishes
Speaker 1: at Auburn University and longtime Star Wars fan, created the
Speaker 1: name while studying the fish in It's about one of
Speaker 1: forty species of fish he's named to date. By tradition,
Speaker 1: whoever discovers a new species gets to name it. The
Speaker 1: discovers doesn't necessarily mean fines, though Armbrester explained discovery is
Speaker 1: a weird term. I discovered P. Grido I and a jar,
Speaker 1: but others actually discovered it in nature. They just didn't
Speaker 1: have everything they needed to describe it. Armbrester did, describe it.
Speaker 1: He discovered the nature of the species. The new part
Speaker 1: of new species is weird too. In this context, Armbrester explains,
Speaker 1: a new species is one that is newly described and named.
Speaker 1: Of course, it existed before scientists got involved. Describing a
Speaker 1: new species is a science in itself. In taxonomy, which
Speaker 1: is the scientific discipline of classifying living things, scientists examined physical, genetic, behavioral,
Speaker 1: and ecological traits to logically situate a species within the biosphere.
Speaker 1: Taxonomy is a big deal. It reveals how a new
Speaker 1: species fits into our known world and provides a universal
Speaker 1: language to describe and study it. Taxonomy lays out the
Speaker 1: components of biodiversity and thus the tools to preserve it.
Speaker 1: It offers scientists, engineers, and inventors their best chance at
Speaker 1: understanding the incredible capabilities of the natural world and explaining
Speaker 1: it to the rest of us. Naming is part of taxonomy.
Speaker 1: A name often reflects a distinctive characteristic, like the name
Speaker 1: tatter Rita braziliensis for a bat discovered that lives in Brazil.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of leeway in naming, though, and scientists
Speaker 1: often get creative, like P. Grito I for a fish
Speaker 1: that looks like Grito or Miotis Midas tactus for a
Speaker 1: bat with golden fur after mythologies golden touched King Midas.
Speaker 1: This approach can sometimes be problematic, though, but we spoke
Speaker 1: with Dr Ricardo Morritelli, a biologist with the Oswaldo Cruz
Speaker 1: Foundation who named the Golden bat. He explained a characteristic
Speaker 1: that we first think is unique to that species may
Speaker 1: be revealed as shared with others or even variable within
Speaker 1: the species. For instance, the aforementioned Tea braziliensis was later
Speaker 1: found to live throughout North and South America, resulting in
Speaker 1: subspecies like Ta Braziliences mexicana or the Mexican Brazilian free
Speaker 1: tailed bat. Other names honor colleagues, immortalized family members, or
Speaker 1: less common but more compelling exact revenge scientists. Orleannais, who
Speaker 1: in the seventeen hundreds founded the taxonomy and nomenclature systems
Speaker 1: still used in biology today, named an entire genus of
Speaker 1: wreaking weeds Segis Beckia after one Johann Sigi Spec, a
Speaker 1: botanist who had endlessly criticized his work. The International Commission
Speaker 1: on Zoological Nomenclature needs to approve names but the organization
Speaker 1: is pretty open minded. It approved said vicious i and
Speaker 1: Johnny rotten i for two species of extinct trilobite named
Speaker 1: by a taxonomist whose friend loved the sex pistols. It
Speaker 1: also gave the nod to Agathedium bush i, A Cheney i,
Speaker 1: and A. Rumsfeld i for three species of beetle. The
Speaker 1: Republican taxonomist actually meant it as a good thing. It
Speaker 1: also approved Ampulex dementor for a wasp that turns cockroaches
Speaker 1: into zombies before eating them. The behavior apparently recalled Harry
Speaker 1: Potter's spirit sucking adversaries. That last one was chosen in
Speaker 1: a vote by visitors to Berlin's Museum of Natural History.
Speaker 1: Some scientists are giving away their name rights to educate, engage,
Speaker 1: and fund research and conservation. Berlin's museum patrons learned about
Speaker 1: the new wasp and taxonomy and its critical role in
Speaker 1: conservation as part of the voting. The Script's Institution for
Speaker 1: Oceanography sales naming rights for five thousand to twenty five
Speaker 1: thousand per species, with the proceeds supporting the institution's work.
Speaker 1: And that's a bargain at a two thou five auction.
Speaker 1: The online Golden Palace Casino paid sixty five thousand dollars
Speaker 1: for the rights to name a species of monkey, supporting
Speaker 1: the national Park in Bolivia where the new monkey was discovered.
Speaker 1: This commercialization makes some in the field uncomfortable with money
Speaker 1: in the mix. There's concern about biased taxonomy. Armbresterer said
Speaker 1: it has the possibility of getting out of hand. Buying
Speaker 1: a name is a good thing as long as it
Speaker 1: is for a species we have already identified as new.
Speaker 1: We need more money for taxonomy. Finding creative ways to
Speaker 1: fund the science is a good thing. By the way,
Speaker 1: Golden Palace named the monkey calla cibis Auri palate i
Speaker 1: Auri plate, meaning Golden Palace in Latin. The casino wanted
Speaker 1: dot com in there too, but it couldn't be latinized.
Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Julia Layton and produced by
Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio's How Stuff Works. For more in this and lots
Speaker 1: of other well categorized topics, visit our home planet, how
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