Agathidium bushi, Agathidium cheneyi, and Agathidium rumsfeldi
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Pirate modeA while back, it was in the news that a couple of taxonomists had named some species of carpet beetles in the genus Agathidium after Bush and Cheney. One of their students, after some doubts, has reconciled himself to the nomenclature by identifying some similarities between the insects and the honorees.
REPUBLICAN SYNAPOMORPHIES
| Agathidium sp. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bush, Cheney, & Rumsfeld | ||
| Size of brain | 0.1 cubic mm | 0.1 cubic mm |
| Size of male intromittent organ | < 0.5mm | < 0.5mm |
| Primary habitat | Rotting interior of fungusy logs, decaying plant matter | Rotting inner workings of American political machine, decaying remains of first amendment |
| Feeding ecology | Feeds on slimy, amorphous plasmodium of myxomycetes | Feeds on slimy, amorphous matrix of paranoia, jingoism, general bigotry |
| Defense mechanism | Curling into oblivious ball, concealing self in crevices | Ignoring warnings of climate change, fuel shortages; may conceal self in vast Texas ranch |
| Alma mater | Ivy League (observed on campus at Cornell University) | Ivy League (observed on campus at Yale, Princeton) |
| Capacity to make informed decisions concerning international policy | dubious | highly dubious |
These are all good reasons for the naming, but the author also has some serious objections.
(Sent to me by Myrmecos, who also has a marvelous website of insect photography.)
Trackback url: http://pharyngula.org/index/trackback/2424/SYIhXFBU/
I like Myrmecos' system of insect taxonomy: "ants" vs. "not-ants".