A new type of roach discovered in Singapore has been named after a feminine bug-fighting Pokemon.
The Nocticola pheromosa is a new species of cockroach belonging to the Nocticolidae family, which has 32 known species, according to a report by entomologists Foo Maosheng from the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and Cristian Lucañas from University of the Philippines Los Baños’s Museum of Natural History.
A new delicate epigean Nocticola has been described and also serves as the first record of this genus from Singapore.@IpisLord and I have named it after the #Pokemon Pheromosa, with specimens in @lkcnhm pic.twitter.com/KiUJZUFYtZ
— BugCatcher_Mao (@BugcatcherM) March 6, 2023
Foo, who calls himself a “Real-life Pokémon Bug-Catcher,” said it took years to identify the new species, the first specimen of which was caught in 2016 at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve as part of an insect survey.
It wasn’t until it was dissected that they realized that it was a new species after comparing its genitalia to a relative species from Borneo.
Since both Foo and Lucañas are Pokemon fans, they decided to name the insect after a similar-looking Pokemon called Pheromosa, a femininely pale anthropomorphic cockroach type pocket monster introduced in the long-running video game series’ 7th generation.
The roach shares many of the characteristics of its fellow Nocticola species such as elongated appendages, reduced coloration and incredibly fast speed.
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