In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of names of famous people or fictional monsters for new species of plants and animals. The National Institute for Environmental Studies, together with researchers from Nippon Koei Co., Ltd. and the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, has pointed out that while this method is effective in raising public interest in taxonomy and conservation activities, it can also cause problems in terms of naming conventions.
The research group took up Ramisyllis kingghidorahi as an example. This is a type of annelid belonging to the Polychaeta Silidae family, and was discovered in the Sea of Japan in 2022. The tail is multi-branched, reminiscent of the monster King Ghidorah, so the name was used as the species name. Ramisyllis is the genus name, and kingghidorahi is the species name. Traditionally, the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) mainly used the personal names of famous real people.
First, the Latin suffix "-i" used for the dedication is used in the masculine singular, which means that the writer recognizes King Ghidorah as a single male. However, there is no scientific evidence regarding King Ghidorah's gender. It is also possible that it is plural. King Ghidorah is set as a combination of three individuals in the movie Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991). In that case, the end of the specific name should be "-orum", which indicates plural.
Additionally, King Ghidorah has different origins and forms in each film (including a mechanized Mecha-King Ghidorah), so King Ghidorah is more of a higher taxonomic rank or general name than a single individual or species, and the suffix "-oides" or "-formis" would be appropriate.
As such, there are many points in the current international rules on taxonomy that cannot be smoothly interpreted. In order to conserve biodiversity, it is important to maintain stable scientific names and nomenclature systems, and further in-depth discussion and understanding of international rules will be required in the future.
Paper information:[BioScience] Rethinking nomenclatural acts: questions in taxonomy by the dedications to mythology and fictional monsters
