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New Zealand insect named after hobbit Frodo Baggins from Lord of the Rings
The newly classified species Psylla Frodobaggins is found on the South Island, where the Tolkein movies were filmed
Angela Cuming in Dunedin
Thu 19 Sep 2019 21.51 EDT
New Zealand researchers have named an insect after JRR Tolkein’s famous hobbit character Frodo Baggins. Like the famous literary character, the insect is smaller than its relations and is found in New Zealand’s South Island, the location where the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies were filmed.
The Psylla frodobagginsi was identified by Francesco Martoni and Karen Armstrong, who examined the psyllid insects during research for Martoni’s PhD, with the New Zealand’s Bio-Protection Research Centre.
It is not the first time Kiwi insects have been named after hobbits. In 2013 scientists discovered a new species of wasp that were small, short and stout and named them after Bilbo, Frodo, Merry, Pippin and Sam.
During their research, the pair also solved an 87-year-old mystery about why there was so much variation in what is called the kōwhai psyllid. There are in fact two different varieties of psyllid: the Psylla apicalis and the slightly smaller Psylla frodobagginsi.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/20/new-zealand-insect-named-after-hobbit-frodo-baggins-from-lord-of-the-rings-psylla-frodobaggins