New species of cockroach is named after a Pokémon

A new species of cockroach has been discovered, and it has been named the Pheromosa cockroach, after the Ultra Entity Pheromosa from Pokémon Sun and Moon.

This new species was found in Singapore in 2017 and 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 name of the species Nocticola pheromosa .

Foo mentioned that the new cockroach they found has some similarities to the character Pheromosa due to its long antennae, hooded wings, and long legs. He admitted that he and his colleague are Pokemon fans, hence the name.

Lucanas saw images of the new cockroach on The Biodiversity of Singapore website and the couple researched and documented everything they could about the new find.

Despite all the documented research, the full origins of the Nocticola Pheromosa are still unknown, but this scientific discovery means that it joins a rather curious club of real-life creatures named after Pokémon.

For example, in 2021 three beetles discovered in Australia were named Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres thanks to their vivid colors that matched the three legendary characters from the anime series. A wasp was named Weedle in 2011 after being found in Botswana and Madagascar, and a few more prehistoric creatures have been named after other popular Pokemon, including Bulbasaur and Aerodactyl.