In slightly older news from the world of biology:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neopalpa_donaldtrumpi
Neopalpa donaldtrumpi is a moth species of the genus Neopalpa occurring in Southern California and Northern Mexico. It was described in 2017 by Canadian scientist Vazrick Nazari. He chose the name because the moth’s head cover reminded him of the hair of then President-elect Donald Trump.
Discovery
The genus Neopalpa, including the species Neopalpa neonata, was first described in 1998 by Dalibor Povolný.[2] Almost two decades later, Nazari reviewed the material, including specimens that had been collected since the first description of the genus, from the Bohart Entomology Museum. He considered that some of the specimens formed a new species. In January 2017 he published an article naming it Neopalpa donaldtrumpi for the yellowish-white color of the scales on the head, which reminded him of then President-elect Donald Trump’s hairstyle.
http://time.com/4637403/tiny-moth-donald-trump/
A new species of tiny moth has been named after Donald Trump, partly because the President-elect’s hairstyle resembles the moth’s distinctive yellow and white scales.
The minuscule creature, named Neopalpa donaldtrumpi, is the first species to bear the name of the soon-to-be president, whose inauguration is this Friday. It was discovered by Vazrick Nazari, a biologist and researcher from Ottawa, Canada.
“The new species is named in honor of Donald J. Trump,” Nazari wrote in a review of the species.
“The reason for this choice of name is to bring wider public attention to the need to continue protecting fragile habitats in the U.S. that still contain many undescribed species. The specific epithet is selected because of the resemblance of the scales… of the moth to Mr. Trump’s hairstyle.”
The micro-moth was discovered in southern California, but its habitat extends to Baja California in Mexico.
Last year a critter found in the Peruvian Amazon hit the headlines because of its striking resemblance to Trump’s hairdo. The flannel moth caterpillar (Megalopyge opercularis), was subsequently dubbed the ‘Trumpapillar’ by researchers, Life Science reports.
I wonder if Trump will be doubling down on moth immigration from Mexico. They’re taking American moths’ jobs, you know.
Oddly enough, I found out about this while looking at the front page of the French Wikipedia, even though I cannot speak French. Don’t ask me why I was looking at French Wikipedia.
