A brand new species of cockroach has been discovered, and it's been named the Pheromosa cockroach, after the Ultra Beast Pheromosa from Pokémon Sun & Moon.
The Straits Times reports (via Nintendo Soup) that this new species was found in Singapore back in 2016/17, but its discovery and origins were a complete mystery. Now, entomologists Foo Maosheng and Cristian C. Lucanas (from the UPLB Museum of Natural History in the Philippines) have taken the time to research this new species and fully document its existence, giving it the species name Nocticola pheromosa.
Foo said of the new cockroach that that, "there are some similarities between Pheromosa and the delicate cockroach that we found". Comparing this new species' long antenna, hooded wings, and long legs to the white cockroach-like UB, Foo — who co-authored the finding of the creature — admitted that he and his colleague are all Pokémon fans, hence the name.
Lucanas spotted pictures of the new cockroach on The Biodiversity of Singapore website and the pair researched and documented everything they could about the new find, co-publishing the report together.
Despite all of the documented research, the two have put together, the complete origins of the Nocticola pheromosa are still unknown, but this scientific discovery means it joins a pretty elusive club of real-life creatures that have been named after Pokémon.
Back in 2021, three beetles discovered in Australia were named after Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres thanks to their vivid colourings that matched the three legendary birds. A wasp was named after Weedle back in 2011 after being found in Botswana and Madagascar, and a handful of prehistoric creatures have been named after other popular 'mons, like Bulbasaur and Aerodactyl.
Pheremosa made its debut in generation 7 as an Ultra Beast and it's a rather tall, delicate cockroach-like creature. Its Ultra Beast code is B-02 Beauty, and it's dual Bug/Fighting-type.
What do you think of this new discovery? Would you like to name anything after a Pokémon? Scurry on down to the comments and let us know.
[source straitstimes.com, via nintendosoup.com]
Comments 24
Well, I didn’t expect to wake up this morning and see that a cockroach has been named after a Pokémon. What’s next, they will discover a new bodybuilder pose and call it the “Buzzwole pose?”
It didn't come from another galaxy, did it?
And when scientists discover a giant lizard walking on two legs in the depths of the ocean in real life, they're gonna name it after Tyranitar.
Oh wait...
This is really cool! This reminds me of the sonic hedgehog protein.
@Handy_Man Having a protein named Sonic Hedgehog actually isn't as cool as it sounds. SHH mutations can result in cranial deformation, and as a result, doctors have to tell parentsthat their children have life altering mental disabilities due to Sonic Hedgehog disease.
That’s one cool name for a cockroach
Pheremosa is a good name for this because it sounds science-y enough to not raise suspicion while also being a direct reference for those in the know, haha
Does anyone remember the Pikachu rodent named Pika, small, mouse like, and no electricity sacks what so ever. 🐁
That's great! Now kill it with fire
I don't think it's accurate to name this thing after Pharomosa. I would step on this cockroach in a heartbeat, but the shoe would be on the other foot in Pharomosa's case...
So they have been filling out a irl Pokedex then?
reminds me of Pikachurin
great… more roaches 😩
@Munchlax well that would be... Interesting to experience
@PokemonDMG yeah, they're adorable! But the pika in Pikachu actually comes from a Japanese onomatopoeia for a sparkling sound (pikapika)
More Roaches?! This has gotta stop.
@Munchlax Just for the sake of accuracy, that's not really true. SHH mutations cause holoprosencephaly, not ''Sonic Hedgehog disease''.
@Octane I know, but there was still controversy around the name due to having to discuss it with patients, and it seeming insensitive. I was just trying to simplify it for the comment.
@Xiovanni : You’ve never had a cockroach fly in your face, have you?
@JadeKitsune : No, just a worm hole, as opposed to a wormhole.
@Handy_Man Please don't remind me about SHH, it gives me flashbacks to having to learn about it for my degree.
If I remember right the worst bit was that they initially found like 5 sequential proteins, so they named them SHH1 - 5, but then they discovered new proteins that fit in the process but just carried on naming them sequentially so the order ended up being SHH 1, 2, 7, 3, 4, 6, 5 or something equally annoying to learn.
Ugh.
Eww, I don't care what its named. Cockroaches are gross no matter what.
@TheBigBlue This needed to be a thing yesterday. Lol
@Xiovanni Flying roaches reside in the southern United States.
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