Scientists around the world are obsessed with naming new and recently discovered species after The Lord of the Rings characters.
This week, researchers opted to name a new species of Catfish after Frodo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings; however, the scientific communities’ obsession with naming things after series’ characters goes far beyond your wildest imagination.
Scientists name a new Catfish after Bilbo Baggins
On July 31, a new scientific study was published in the Ichthyology and Herpetology journal, released on the BioOne Digital Library by researchers from Randolph-Macon College (Virginia), The National Museum of Natural History (Washington), and the NRF South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity (Makhanda).
The study revealed that two new species of Suckermouth Catfishes had been discovered in the Upper Guinean Forest streams of West Africa; one of which is said to ‘resemble’ the main character of J. R. R. Tolkien’s iconic The Lord of the Rings, namely Frodo Baggins, with its larger eyes, longer whiskers, and fewer teeth compared to its sister species.
In accordance with being fans of Tolkien’s work, this specific Catfish was said to be “another diminutive traveler”, but distinct from its sister species some 3000 miles away.
The researchers noted that this was “an incredible journey for such a small” fish; also similar to that of the journey Frodo took from The Shire to Mordor in The Lord of the Rings.
Ultimately, the scientific name for this new species of Catfish is now…Chiloglanis frodobagginsi.
Whilst curious to all Lord of the Rings movies and book fans, it’s certainly not the first time that scientists have named something after one of its characters.
Scientists are obsessed with LOTR naming patterns
In truth, scientists and researchers from around the world have been naming various things after characters and places from The Lord of the Rings for decades.
From the field of astronomy:
- Asteroids ‘2291 Biblo’ and ‘2675 Tolkien’, discovered and named in 1982
- ‘Balrog Macula’ is a series of dark regions on Pluto, named in 2015
- ‘Earendel’ is the most distant single star ever discovered by the Hubble Telescope, named in 2022
- Asteroid ‘378314 Sauron’ crossed Mars, discovered in 2007
- ‘Mordor Macula’ is the unofficial nickname of the large dark area on Pluto’s largest moon, named in 2015
There was a particular Lord of the Rings obsession when it came to naming Titan’s (Saturn’s largest moon) various mountains and hills. On Titan, you can find ‘Mount Doom’, ‘Misty Mountains’, and the ‘Mountains of Moria’ as well as a series of large hills named after Arwen, Bilbo, Faramir, and Gandalf.
Easily the largest concentration of LOTR-themed names given by scientists has come from the world of fauna and flora, including:
- A species of Clam called Martesia tolkieni (J. R. R. Tolkien)
- A species of Frog called Hyloscirtus tolkieni (J. R. R. Tolkien)
- A species of Wasp called Balrogia (The Balrog)
- A genus of Sheet Weaver Spider called Sauron (Sauron)
- A species of Crab called Gandalfus (Gandalf)
- A species of Earthworm called Metapheretima elrondi (Elrond)
- A species of Frog called Cacosternum thorini (Thorin)
- A species of Shark called Gollum (Gollum)
- A species of Beetle called Pericompsus bilbo (Biblo)
- A species of Hermit Crab called Paragiopagurus hobbit (Hobbits)
- A species of Ray-finned fish called Galaxias gollumoides (Gollum)
- A species of Lizard called Liolaemus smaug (Smaug the Dragon)
- A species of Spider called Ochyrocera laracna (Shelob)
From Middle-earth to just plain old regular Earth; fans can also find three mountains in British Columbia called Mount Shadowfax, Mount Gandalf, and Mount Aragorn. There are also various seamounts in the North Atlantic Ocean named after locations from Middle-earth and even a seamount called the ‘Eye of Sauron’ in the Indian Ocean.
Whilst non-Lord of the Rings fans may roll their eyes at these rather nerdy names, it does provide a bit of fun to what can be a rather mundane process of scientific naming.
Related Topics
Gaming Trailers
More Like This
LEGO® STAR WARS™: The Skywalker Saga Gameplay Trailer
Latest Trailers
