New plant and animal species are discovered every year, and their names have traditionally been chosen by the scientists who discover them. If the scientist is a fan of a specific subset of pop culture, it’s very common for their interests to be reflected in the name that’s chosen. For example, a species of fly that was discovered in 2011 was named Scaptia beyonceae after pop singer Beyoncé.
A new species of cockroach native to a forest nature reserve in the Singapore has been named Nocticola pheromosa, a name that may appear familiar to fans of the Pokémon franchise. According to The Straits Times, while this species was first discovered between 2016 and 2017, it was only confirmed as a distinct species after further research and dissection. Nocticola pheromosa is named after the Pokémon Pheromosa, a bug and fighting type that first originated in Pokémon Sun & Moon.
Entomologists Foo Maosheng and Cristian C. Lucanas, who co-authored a paper detailing their discovery which was published on February 27, both admit to being Pokémon fans. According to Foo, the cockroach was named specifically after Pheromosa for their similar physical features:
There are some similarities between Pheromosa and the delicate cockroach that we found, such as having a long antenna, wings that mimic a hood and long slender legs. Both my collaborator and I are Pokémon fans, so we thought, why not name it after a Pokémon inspired by a cockroach.
Nocticola pheromosa joins dozens of other species named after video game-related terms, and a surprisingly sizeable group of insects named after Pokémon specifically. Three new Australian beetles discovered in 2021 were each named after the Legendary Pokémon Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos. In 2016, one of eight new bee species found in Chile were named after the famous fire-breathing Pokémon Charizard, and in 2011 a newly-discovered wasp in the genus Stentorceps was named after the bug Pokémon Weedle for their similar spines in the middle of their heads.