A Queensland Museum scientist has taken inspiration from the Harry Potter universe in naming a new species of mite after Harry Potter's loyal snow white owl Hedwig.
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Queensland Museum's manager of Arachnology Dr Owen Seeman said he found the mite on a beetle named Figulus, which in Latin means a potter.
"So, as this mite is like a little pet of a Potter, I named it Hedwig," he said.
When naming a mite, Dr Seeman said he likes to look at the host a mite is living on.
This one was fairly obvious, he said.
"Hedwig being Harry Potter's pet was like a small creature living with Harry Potter."
Because they're so tiny, only 5-10 per cent of mites are known and it's quite easy to find a new species, he said.
A lot of entomologists like to have "a little bit of fun" when it comes to naming new species, he said.
In the job of taxonomy, finding something new is always exciting but leads to a laborious process of measuring and making a case for why it should be considered a new species, he said.
But when you come to the name, if I can have a little bit of fun with that, or think of something creative, then I'll have a go.
It's not the first time Dr Seeman has made the news for his quirky naming.
One of the first mites he named was a species from the genus Funkotriplogynium.
"It was named for a guy called Dick Funk and that's where the Funko part came from," Dr Seeman.
"I was a young student and I thought I'd have a bit of fun with that back in 1997, I think it was, and name it for the 'King of Funk', James Brown."
James Brown's name was latinised to Iagobadius.
Iago means James and badius means Brown.
"Oddly enough it did make it onto the program Spicks and Specks as a question one night," he said.
"That was a nice little moment for me".
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It even made it on the BBC list of animals named after celebrities.
Berzercon ferdinandi, another mite named by Dr Seeman has a head shaped like a bull and was inspired by Ferdinand the Bull, which was a story he was reading to his young sons at the time.
Dr Seeman hopes people come to appreciate the world of mites which he said is "vastly understudied and unknown".
"People could go to their backyard, find a species that no one has ever seen before."
Dr Seeman's latest discovery was recently published in The Australian Entomologist.
Charmaine Manuel
Charmaine is a journalist at The Examiner. She's interested in social, political and environmental issues. Got a story? Get in touch at charmaine.manuel@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Charmaine is a journalist at The Examiner. She's interested in social, political and environmental issues. Got a story? Get in touch at charmaine.manuel@austcommunitymedia.com.au
