Hitler Beetle keeps its controversial name

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It is brown, only five millimeters long and lives hidden in caves. Although the vast majority of experts have never seen the beetle, Anophthalmus hitleri excites people because of its name. However, the animal will probably continue to be named after Adolf Hitler.

The beetle, which lives in caves in Slovenia, was discovered in the 1930s. The researcher Oscar Scheibel, an ardent supporter of the German Empire, named the insect after his idol. He is said to have even received a letter of thanks from Berlin.

So far, there have been no requests to change the scientific names of animal species for ethical reasons — including Anophthalmus hitleri, said taxonomist Daniel Whitmore, who is a member of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. This body determines the rules for naming new animal species.

Decades-old names criticized for racism
Some names given decades ago are now criticized because they honor controversial people, use colonial place names or, according to some scholars, may be discriminatory or racist. According to the international commission, several hundred thousand scientific names could be affected.

However, she rejects a new name for ethical reasons. “We certainly understand that some names may cause discomfort or offense,” Whitmore said. However, the priority is to have a universal and stable nomenclature so that no confusion arises. “It is not our job to judge whether names are offensive or ethically unacceptable as that is a highly subjective and personal matter.”

No substantive requirements for the nomenclature
Thousands of new animal species are described worldwide every year. How this should be done is laid down in the international rules of zoological nomenclature. The nomenclature does not provide substantive guidelines, says zoology professor Michael Ohl of the Natural History Museum in Berlin. The researchers can freely choose the names, as long as they are formed technically correctly.

“These apply as soon as they are published and cannot be removed. In a case like the Hitler Beetle, a new name would not change much,” says Ohl. Because the name would not disappear completely.

The reason: animals often have multiple scientific names, so they are all listed in some sort of catalog under the currently valid name. Anyone who wants to collect the Hitler Beetle because of the name will continue to do so, Ohl says.

There is a long tradition of naming newly discovered animal species after people – to flatter a generous donor, to honor family or friends or to attract attention with the help of prominent namesakes, as Ohl writes in his book ‘ The Art of Naming’.

For example, a type of centipede bears the name of pop star Taylor Swift, beetles are named after actor Leonardo DiCaprio and climate protection activist Greta Thunberg, and a type of moth is reminiscent of former US President Donald Trump (see photo above). ).

Source: Krone

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