Naming things in science can be fun. Of a Plant named after Lady Gaga For a mushroom named after SpongeBob Squarepants, there is no shortage of pop cultural references in the world of flora and fauna.
It's no wonder that scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia named a selection of different species last year after our favorite avengers and a certain fourth wallbreaking "mercenary with mouth".
Yes, first 2020 brought us hornets. Now we have Deadpool's fly.
CSIRO entomologist Bryan Lessard explained the reasons for the name in a press release: "Deadpool Fly is an assassin with markings on his back that resemble Deadpool's mask." And seriously. Check out the picture above and you can see the famous assassin staring straight at you. It is scary!
"We chose the name Humorolethalis sergius," said Lessard. "It sounds like deadly humor and is derived from the Latin words humorosus, which means wet or damp, and lethalis means dead."
Given what we know about Deadpool, it seems pretty fitting.
Other flies with Avengers motifs are Thor's Daptolestes bronteflavus (blonde thunder) and Lokis Daptolestes illusiolautus(elegant illusion), Black Widows Daptolestes feminategus (woman in leather) and even one in honor of the legendary Marvel creator Stan Lee, Daptolestes leei, who shares his iconic sunglasses and white mustache.
Outside the Marvel universe, CSIRO named 151 new insects, eight new plants, two new fish, one new mite and three new subspecies of birds last year.
According to Lessard, it is important to identify and name as many species as possible in order to better understand their place in our world.
"We are interested in identifying new species of insects that could be useful pollinators, nutrient recyclers, or the next food source to support the agricultural sector."
Just make it available to all CSIRO scientists who want to name their next insect: Ant-Man seems too easy, but you could definitely work with something that borders on Paul Rudd.