New species ‘cancel’ fears

SCIENTISTS should not name new species after celebrities in case they fall out of favour or are ‘cancelled’, an expert has said.

In recent years, a millipede has been named after Taylor Swift, a moth after Donald Trump and a rubber frog after Sir David Attenborough.

But Professor Robert Poulin, from the University of Otago in New Zealand, has said the trend should be avoided as it can lead to ‘nomenclatural regret’. Writing in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, he added: ‘One person’s hero is another’s villain and even celebrities that are widely acclaimed today can fall from grace tomorrow.’

Species’ names should instead refer to their shape or the place where they were found, he suggested.