and you thought fish were fun!
well this one was when the Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientist Phil Hasting, who is also the Marine Vertebrate
Collection curator decided to name it, he found great fun in selecting a name for the newly discovered species of fish, His current experience of
being contained in the four corners of his house gave him the idea to name the
new sea creature the Pandemic Blenny, (Coralliozetus clausus), they are small in size at a maximum of 18 millimetres long and are said to be found only around Cocos Island in Costa
Rica, “One of the
pleasurable tasks of describing a new species is selecting a unique name for
it. I originally thought about naming the fish in reference to its small size -
the largest specimen is only 15 mm long,” said Hastings. “But then, when
considering its restricted distribution, I decided to give it the Latin
specific name of clausus which means ‘enclosed’ or ‘having been shut off.’ As I
stared at the four walls of my home office, I thought about my own and others’
isolation during the pandemic, so I gave it the common name of Pandemic
Blenny.” image credit: UC San Diego News Centre.
1 comment:
I had to read twice, I read it as pLandemic Benny, much more fitting name lol
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