Cockroach Species Discovered in 2016 At Forest Reserve In SG Gets Named After A Pokémon

No matter your age, income or how tough you are, we all become cowards when a cockroach starts to fly.

Between 2016 and 2017, several male bugs were collected in a secondary forest in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve during an insect survey, reported The Straits Times.

That’s when Entomologist Foo Maosheng of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) found that the DNA of the cockroach-like bug did not match any other insects in the database.

Cristian C. Lucanas, an entomologist from the UPLB Museum of Natural History in the Philippines saw pictures of the roach on The Biodiversity of Singapore website and proceeded to contact Mr Foo to lend his expertise in dissecting insects.

They have discovered that the exterior of this bug resembles one of a known species but through dissection, it is revealed that this insect is indeed a new species.

Both of them worked together and published a paper on this new species. As both of them are Pokémon fans, they decided to name the species after a bug-type Pokémon!

The bug’s family is known as Nocticola (where only 32 species are known to date) and its full name is Nocticola pheromosa! Pheromosa is a 7th-generation bug-type Pokémon and it was modelled after a “freshly mottled cockroach” which is why it has a very light colouring.

The LKCNHM Facebook page added that “other Nocticola species also share features with Pheromosa such as their elongated appendages, reduced colouration and fast speed.”

It’s so awesome to think that there are many things in this world that we have yet to discover. We hope that kids will be inspired by these 2 Pokémon bug catchers and will continue studying insects with the same passion.

Also read: Majestic Tigress & Her 3 Cubs Roam The Jungle, An Endangered Species With Under 189 Left In The Wild