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#New type of ant given first-ever gender-neutral name

#New type of ant given first-ever gender-neutral name

Even the bugs are nonbinary now.

A newly discovered ant is now the first animal species to be given a scientific name ending in “they” to honor gender diversity.

Researchers named the miniature trap-jaw ant from the luscious tropical forests of Ecuador “Strumigenys ayersthey.”

Typically, when species are named after people, the scientific name ends with -ae (after females) and -i (after males), but this group of researchers wanted to celebrate nonbinary people.  

The insect was first found by Philipp Hoenle of the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany and its uniqueness was confirmed by taxonomic expert Douglas Booher of Yale University.

This ant is unlike any other of the 850+ species belonging to its genus.

Researchers named the miniature trap-jaw ant from the luscious tropical forests of Ecuador “Strumigenys ayersthey.”
Researchers named the miniature trap-jaw ant from the luscious tropical forests of Ecuador “Strumigenys ayersthey.”
Sci Tech Daily

This newly discovered insect also comes with some star power. Michael Stipe, the lead singer and lyricist of R.E.M., assisted Booher in writing part of the research article on the bug.

Stipe lent a hand to write the etymology section which commemorated their mutual friend, activist and artist Jeremy Ayers and explains the inspiration behind the species name.

Typically, when species are named after people, the scientific name ends with -ae (after females) and -i (after males), but this group of researchers wanted to celebrate non-binary people.
Typically, when species are named after people, the scientific name ends with -ae (after females) and -i (after males), but this group of researchers wanted to celebrate nonbinary people.
Sci Tech Daily

Ayers, who passed away in 2016, was a gay human rights activist who fought for underrepresented communities and nonbinary individuals.

Commenting on the unique name, Booher said, “Such a beautiful and rare animal was just the species to celebrate both biological and human diversity. Small changes in language have had a large impact on culture. Language is dynamic and so should be the change in naming species — a basic language of science.”

He hopes that this new naming option will be used moving forward “for those that want to be identified outside of the gender binary.”

Michael Stipe, the lead singer and lyricist of R.E.M., assisted Booher in writing part of the research article on the bug.
Michael Stipe, the lead singer and lyricist of R.E.M., assisted Booher in writing part of the research article on the bug.
Sci Tech Daily

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