英文閱讀27——New beetle named after climate activist

2021-01-08 分享姿勢的歐裡給

文章中將會出現的生詞:

parasite:n. 食客;寄生蟲

Greta Thunberg: New beetle named after climate activist

Greta Thunberg:以氣候活動家的名字命名的新甲蟲

A newly discovered species of beetle has been named after young climate activist Greta Thunberg. 一種新發現的甲蟲物種以年輕的氣候活動家Greta Thunberg的名字命名。

Nelloptodes gretaebears little resemblance to its namesake - it is less than 1mm long, and has no wings or eyes. Nelloptodes gretae與它的同名物幾乎沒有相似之處-長度不到1毫米,沒有翅膀或眼睛。

The insect does, however, have two long pigtail-like antennae. 然而,昆蟲確實有兩個長長的辮子狀觸角。

Scientist Dr Michael Darby said he chose the name because he was "immensely impressed" by the Swedish teenager's environmental campaigning. 科學家麥可·達比(Michael Darby)博士說,之所以選擇這個名字,是因為他對瑞典少年的環保運動印象深刻。

N. gretaewas first found in Kenya in the 1960s by William Block, who donated his samples to the Natural History Museum in London in 1978. It has been held in one of the museum's collections since.格雷塔豬籠草於1960年代由威廉·布洛克(William Block)首次發現於肯亞,他於1978年將其樣品捐贈給倫敦自然歷史博物館。此後一直保存在該博物館的藏品之一中。

Dr Darby was studying this collection when he came across the then-nameless species. 達比(Darby)博士在遇到當時不知名的物種時正在研究該收藏。

By naming the beetle after Ms Thunberg, he said, he "wanted to acknowledge her outstanding contribution in raising awareness of environmental issues".他說,以甲殼蟲命名後,他「想承認她在提高對環境問題的認識方面的傑出貢獻」。

It has now been formally named in the Entomologist's Monthly Magazine. 現在,它已在《昆蟲學家月刊》中正式命名。

Dr Max Barclay, the museum's senior curator in charge of beetles, said the name was apt because "it is likely that undiscovered species are being lost all the time, before scientists have even named them, because of biodiversity loss".博物館負責甲蟲的高級策展人馬克斯·巴克萊(Max Barclay)博士說,這個名字很貼切,因為「由於生物多樣性的喪失,未發現的物種很可能一直流失,甚至在科學家命名之前就已經消失了」。

"So it is appropriate to name one of the newest discoveries after someone who has worked so hard to champion the natural world and protect vulnerable species," he added. 他補充說:「因此,以一個努力捍衛自然界和保護脆弱物種的人來命名最新發現是適當的。」

Who else has an animal named after them? 還有誰還有以它們命名的動物?

For scientists, naming a newly discovered species after themselves is simply not done - which means they need to be a bit more creative. 對於科學家來說,根本沒有以他們自己的名字命名一個新發現的物種-這意味著它們需要更有創造力。

This is how we now have a parasite named after Bob Marley (Gnathia marleyi), a genus of fish called after Richard Dawkins (Dawkinsia), and a small park's worth of species - both alive and extinct - named after Sir David Attenborough. 這就是我們現在擁有一個以鮑勃·馬利(Bob Marley,Gnathia marleyi)命名的寄生蟲,以理察·道金斯(Richard Dawkins,Dawkinsia)命名的魚類的一種寄生蟲,以及一個小公園的各種物種-既活又滅絕的物種-以David Attenborough爵士命名。

Sometimes animals are named after celebrities the scientists admire, as with the N. gretaebeetle, or a spider called Spintharus leonardodicaprioi. 有時,動物會以科學家敬佩的名人來命名,例如格萊特豬籠草甲蟲或名為Spintharus leonardodicaprioi的蜘蛛

Other times, it's because the celebrity is known to have a particular fondness for that animal - as with the lemur named after John Cleese, Avahi cleesei. 在其他時候,這是因為眾所周知,名人對這種動物特別鍾愛-例如以約翰·克萊斯(Avahi cleesei)命名的狐猴。

And sometimes the animals bear some resemblance to the celebrity they're named after. 有時,這些動物與以他們的名字而來的名人有些相似。

For example, there is a golden-haired fly named after Beyonce - Scaptia beyonceae. There is also a moth called Neopalpa donaldtrumpiwhich, biologist Vazrick Nazari said in 2017, is known for its distinctive blonde head and "comparatively small" genitals. 例如,有一隻以碧昂絲-Scaptia beyonceae命名的金蠅。生物學家瓦茲裡克·納扎裡(Vazrick Nazari)在2017年說過,還有一種叫做Neopalpa donaldtrumpi的蛾,以其獨特的金髮頭和「相對較小的」生殖器而聞名。

And just last year, Donald Trump had another animal named after him - an amphibian that buries its head in the sand. The Dermophis donaldtrumpiwas so named because of the US president's comments about climate change. 就在去年,唐納·川普(Donald Trump)還有另一種以他命名的動物- 一種兩棲動物,將其頭部埋在沙子裡。該Dermophis donaldtrumpi被如此命名是因為美總統發表關於氣候變化的意見。

Unlike when you name a pet, however, scientific names last forever. 但是,與給寵物命名時不同,科學名稱會永遠存在。

There is perhaps no starker warning of the dangers of this than the Anophthalmus hitleri, a blind cave beetle doomed to forever be named after Adolf Hitler by a German admirer in 1933. 可能沒有比這更危險的警告了無眼盲人甲蟲(Anophthalmus Hitleri),這是一種盲目甲蟲,註定永遠被1939年德國仰慕者阿道夫·希特勒(Adolf Hitler)命名。

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