The Hunt for the Worst Latin Name

Hotwheels sysiphus is still my favorite

“Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla” is so fucking funny for no reason

There's a fungus called Spongiforma squarepantsii.

the fact that the first classified dinosaur fossil was originally called 'Scrotum Humanum' cannot be forgotten. peak shitpost naming right there

There's a species of frog that was discovered in Colombia and was named Allobates Niputidea. The name comes from the Spanish expression "Ni puta idea" which means No f*cking clue because they weren't sure how to name it.

you forgot hotwheels sisyphus

My biggest issue with video game creature names is that they are far too helpful and descriptive. Even assuming biologists didn't get to this exoplanet first, earth's common animal names include "forest man", "weaver in yellow jacket", and of course the "iunno". If biologists DID get there first, we'd have a whole new planet of "horrible bear bear", "I don't know what lizard this is but I found it in Mongolia", and "weird shrimp thing I named after my pal".

Bruh naming skunks after a goddess of poison gas isn't sucky it is METAL. Also linguists should be forbidden from making jokes about "labia" sounding lewd, on punishment of being forbidden from using bilabial or labiodental consonants for a week.

Mini mum, Mini ature, and Mini scule. All frogs discovered by one guy. They sure are mini :] maybe not the worst Latin name but the guy who brought us these frogs is an actual genius and deserves all the praise and love for them

You're missing the most hilarious scientific names by excluding plants and fungi. Phallus impudicus, just saying.

there's a clade of fish called "Smegmamorpha" 👎

“Parapropalaehoplophorus”, a species of glyptodont is one of my favorites. It’s named after “Propalaehoplophorus”, a species of glyptodont named after “Palaehoplophorus”, a species of glyptodont named after “Hoplophorus”. Interestingly, all four seem to not be that closely related.

Special shout-out to the American robin, because the Latin name’s meaning is perfectly fine (translates to “migratory thrush”) but Turdus migratorius sounds like it was chosen by a bunch of middle schoolers

There's also the tardigrade Neostygarctus lovedeluxe because even the most esteemed halls of academia aren't safe from JoJo references.

theres a genus of beetles called gelae with species named gelae rol, gelae fish, gelae baen, gelae donut, and gelae belae

here are some more! i absolutely LOVE collecting awful scientific names :D - puck (anglerfish) - manipulator (cockroach) - argentina (fish) - torpedo (fish) (note: this is an electric ray. there is a british torpedo called the stingray. it's so confusing) - dracula (flower) - bajacalifornia (fish) - metallica (beetle) - mini (frog) - sus (pig) - boops (fish) - eligma (moth) and, honorable mention because i can't remember the latin name: funny-looking buttface

Crazy naming something BAZINGA like arent you a scientist lock in

Soooo as a botany nerd I must say you missed out on the absolute GOLD MINE that is Plantae: some of my favorites: Amorphophallus titanum (giant shapeless penis) Clitoria fragrans (nice smelling clitoris) Costus ricus (while the name doesn't mean anything special when translated, it just so happens to come from... you guessed it... Costa Rica. Someone clearly saw a golden opportunity and took it) Diospyros virginiana (Virginian divine food (for those wondering, Persimmons are... decent. Definitely a bit overhyped in the name)) Heliamphora minor (small marsh vase. Nothing too crazy on this one but I just find it charming) There's guaranteed a ton more but taxonomy is just so mind bogglingly massive (IIRC most of Wikipedia articles are taxonomy related) that I can't remember any more fun ones off the top of my head so here ya go! edit: forgot one of my favorites! Encephalartos horridus, the spiny bread-in-the-head (sounds like a Shakespearean insult lmao)

My favorite genus is Dickinsonia, named after the guy who discovered it. But it can also mean... You know...

Clades/species I find funny: Han solo Ornithischia Saurischia Mini mum, Mini scule, Mini ature Agra vation, Agra cadabra Binburrum zapdos Pison eu Mmm mmm Magnapaulia Greggorymorpha Anatotitan Myxococcus llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochensis Boops boops Ia io Hypatoarchon anaxecumenes 3 of those are fake.