New species of beetles named after three legendary Pokemon

Remember when Pokemon's names were inspired by animals? When a professor and student found a new species of beetles in Australia, they decided to switch it up.

Dr. Darren Pollock and Yun Hsiao were documenting their findings of three new beetles for an upcoming third edition of "Australian Beetles". The Ph.D. Student Yun Hsiao, being a big fan of Pokemon, had proposed to name these beetles the Pokemon Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. It wasn't just a blind suggestion though, there was a reason behind him naming him after the Legendary birds.

In the science world, it was important to choose an unused name for new specimens to be able to differentiate them from others. These beetles were also pretty hard to find, similar to the three Legendary bird Pokemon. Moreover, the trio of beetles are as different from each other as the Legendary birds.

Meet the beetles! On the far left, we have now called Binburrrum articuno, with its long silver brown wings. In the middle, we have Binburrum moltres with a striking gold top and brown bottom. On the far right, that would be Binburrum zapdos with a honey brown thorax and dark brown wings.

Dr. Pollock mentioned that he found some more beetles of the same genus after the paper was published. This means more Pokemon-inspired beetles for us! We wonder what Yun Hsiao will name the beetles next.

Pokemon took the honour of being named after the new beetles quite seriously, presenting the study in Pokemon's 25th Anniversary year. Pokemon has been releasing quite a number of games and collectibles, like an open-world RPG and a Charizard card rug! Check it out!

This article was first published in Geek Culture.