Scientists behind the discovery said the elongated mandibles, antennae, and mouthparts on the insects are similar to the anime hero’s rubber-stretching Gum-Gum Fruit abilities.
Key Takeaways
- Scientists have discovered a new rove beetle genus they’ve called Luffy, named after Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece because the insects’ elongated mandibles, antennae, and mouthparts resemble his rubber-stretching powers.
- The genus includes two species, Luffy schillhammeri from broadleaf forests in Yunnan, China, honoring Austrian beetle expert Harald Schillhammer; and Luffy nika from northern Laos, named after Luffy’s Gear 5 Nika transformation.
- Published in the journal ZooKeys by researchers at the Natural History Museum of Denmark and the University of Copenhagen, the naming taps into pop culture to draw younger audiences toward biodiversity and taxonomic research.
One Piece isn’t just entertaining anime fans; it’s inspiring scientists to name newly discovered beetles after one of its characters.
According to SciTechDaily, researchers have formally named a new genus of rove beetles “Luffy,” after Monkey D. Luffy, the rubber-bodied protagonist of the popular manga and anime franchise.
The paper, published last month in the peer-reviewed open-access journal ZooKeys, was led by PhD student Fang-Shuo Hu and Alexey Solodovnikov of the Natural History Museum of Denmark and the University of Copenhagen.
The connection to One Piece is based on the beetle’s stretchy appearance, which is what Luffy is known for thanks to his Gum-Gum Fruit abilities.
The genus contains two species: Luffy schillhammeri and Luffy nika.
Luffy schillhammeri was collected from broadleaf forests in Yunnan Province, China, and honors Dr. Harald Schillhammer, an Austrian beetle specialist at the Natural History Museum Vienna, for his contributions to rove beetle research.
Luffy nika, found in Louang Namtha, northern Laos, takes its name from Luffy’s Devil Fruit awakening, the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, also known as Gear 5.
