Euglossa bazinga

Euglossa bazinga is a euglossine bee species found in Brazil. It is named after the catchphrase of the fictional character Dr. Sheldon Cooper from the television show The Big Bang Theory. It was previously misidentified as Euglossa ignita,[1] and is threatened with habitat loss.

Euglossa bazinga
Euglossa bazinga
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Euglossa
Species:
E. bazinga
Binomial name
Euglossa bazinga
Nemésio & Ferrari, 2012

Taxonomy and naming

Euglossa bazinga is one of around 130 species currently identified within the orchid bee genus Euglossa.[2] E. bazinga had previously been misidentified as Euglossa ignita Smith, 1874. Brazilian biologists André Nemésio of the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia and Rafael R. Ferrari of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais identified the species as distinct, with his findings published in the December 2012 issue of the journal Zootaxa.[3] The authors named the species in honor of the catchphrase of the character Sheldon Cooper, played by actor Jim Parsons, from the television show The Big Bang Theory.[3] Nemésio said of the name, "Sheldon Cooper's favorite comic word 'bazinga', used by him when tricking somebody, was here chosen to represent the character. Euglossa bazinga has tricked us for some time due to its similarity to E. ignita, what led us to use 'bazinga'."[4] Ironically, the character is allergic to bees.[5]

Distribution and habitat

E. bazinga has been identified in the central and northern areas of Mato Grosso, Brazil. It is one of the few examples of its genus that occur in the Cerrado, a savanna ecosystem.[2]

Morphology and identification

E. bazinga is the smallest of the Euglossa species belonging to the subgenus Glossura, but has the longest tongue in proportion to its body size.[6]

See also

References
  1. Smith, 1874
  2. Nemésio, André; Ferrari, Rafael R. (18 December 2012). "Euglossa (Glossura) bazinga sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Apinae, Apini, Euglossina), a new orchid bee from western Brazil, and designation of a lectotype for Euglossa (Glossura) ignita Smith, 1874" (PDF). Zootaxa. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  3. Lazarus, Susanna (3 January 2013). "Bazinga! New species of bee named after The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  4. "A Brand New Bee Was Just Named After Sheldon From 'The Big Bang Theory'". Smithsonian Magazine. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  5. Lorre, Chuck; Prady, Bill; Cohen, Robert; Goetsch, Dave (October 2007). "The Big Bran Hypothesis". The Big Bang Theory. Season 1. Episode 2. CBS.
  6. Jackson, Morgan D. (17 December 2012). "You Must Bee Joking". Biodiversity in Focus. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
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