Do you spot any similarties between Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and this praying mantis? |
Madagascar: home to talking lemurs and political praying mantises! |
The new species of praying mantis from Madagascar, Llomantis ginsburgae, was named after the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, known for her support of marriage equality and women’s rights. The species was first discovered in 1967 but was only closely studied and identified in the last year. Along with her position on women’s rights in her career, Ginsburg was the inspiration for the new mantis’ name because of its prominent neck plates that resemble the jabots that the Justice wears.
"As a feminist biologist, I often questioned why female specimens weren't used to diagnose most species," Brannoch said. "This research establishes the validity of using female specimens in the classification of praying mantises. It is my hope that our work not only sets a precedent in taxonomy but also underscores the need for scientists to investigate and equally consider both sexes in other scientific investigations."
With this research, studying females in new species can be legitimized as a practice in the field of biology. Findings from female specimen could potentially bring about more information on the world's organization of animals than we could ever imagine.
With all this excitement, someone should tell Justice Ginsberg to plan a vacation to Madagascar so she can meet her praying mantis doppelganger! And make sure she packs her jabots!
For more information, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment