Anophthalmus hitleri
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| Anophthalmus hitleri Scheibel, 1933 |
Anophthalmus hitleri is a species of blind cave beetle found so far in only five humid caves, all located in Slovenia.[1] The blind cave beetle shares its genus with 41 other species and 95 different subspecies.[2]. Members of this subfamily (Trechinae) are, like most Carabidae, predatory, so the adults and larvae of A. hitleri are presumed to be predators on smaller cave inhabitants (one of the benefits of systematics is that it allows predictions about unknown features of an organism to be made with some confidence, based on knowledge of related species).
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[edit] Name
The Latin name of the beetle comes from a German collector Oscar Scheibel, who was sold a specimen of a then undocumented species in 1933. Its species name was made a dedication to the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. The genus name means eyeless. The dedication did not go unnoticed by the Führer, who sent Scheibel a letter, showing his gratitude. Despite its perceived inappropriateness, it is of taxonomic tradition not to change the binomial name of an organism, with exceptions for religious names, which are not to be made in the first place.[2]
Purely as a result of its name, as the species exhibits no characteristics such as extravagant colors or antennae, it is poached by collectors of Hitler memorabilia and beetle collectors.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature: Etymologies, accessed on June 11, 2006
- ^ a b Being a beetle is probably not easy. Even less so, when you're named after Adolf Hitler, accessed on June 11, 2006
- ^ Entomologische Blätter 33: 438
