Australian Beetles Named After Legendary Pokemon

The Legendary Birds from the original Pokemon games have received an unexpected new honor. Earlier this year, Dr. Darren Pollack and Yun Hsiao named three newly discovered beetle species after Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. The three species are named “Binburrum articuno,” “Binburrum zapdos,” and “Binburrum moltres,” and are variant species of a family of beetles found in southern Australia. Pollack discovered the general “Binburrum” genus of beetles, but it was Hsiao who discovered these specific sub-species and decided to name the beetles after Pokemon. Hsiao was a Pokemon fan as a child, and noted that he wanted to name the beetles after Legendary Pokemon due to their rarity. The pair’s findings were presented in a paper in late 2020, and since then even more species were discovered that they are also considering naming after Pokemon.

In this case, the new beetles are an example of life imitating art as the Pokemon franchise’s origins are tied to bug collecting. Series co-creator Satoshi Tajiri spent his childhood collecting and hunting for new insects, to the point that he was nicknamed “Dr. Bug” by his friends. Many of the earliest Pokemon a player can catch in any Pokemon game are Bug-type Pokemon, in part to recognize that childhood joy of collecting bugs.

The timing of the new species announcement is rather fortuitous, as the Pokemon franchise is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Not only is the campaign celebrating with two new Pokemon games coming out in late 2021/early 2022, the franchise is celebrating with everything from a collaboration with Levi’s to a virtual Post Malone concert.