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Fly species newly named for the Night King from 'Game of Thrones'


Reigns in winter. Only known to reside in a particular area. Has a crown of spine-like hairs.

Nope, it's not the Night King, but it's named for him.

Scientists have named a species of Australian bee fly after the villainous Night King from HBO's Game of Thrones.

It's one of 230 newly named species of animals and plants in the country that have been bestowed with scientific names over the last 12 months, according to Australia's national science agency, CSIRO.

Paramonovius nightking is only collected in winter, and known to reside in Western Australia only. The species, one of 83 types of Australian bombyliini (typically stout and hairy bee flies), has been described in a study published in Austral Entomology.

"This species is named after the Night King in the American fantasy drama Game of Thrones, because all the specimens were collected in winter and the fly is mostly covered in thick pale pruinescence [a dusty or frosted coating]," writes study authors Xuankun Li and David K Yeates of the Australian National Insect Collection at CSIRO.

Winter is coming, and so is this bee fly.

Winter is coming, and so is this bee fly.

Image: csiro

"Xuankun Li, who named the bee fly Paramonovius nightking, is a PhD student at CSIRO and a huge fan of Game of Thrones, proving that inspiration for new species names can come from anywhere," said Bryan Lessard, an entomologist at CSIRO's National Research Collections Australia in a press statement.

It's not the first time scientists have named species for Game of Thrones, with a Brazilian spider named after Lord Varys and three beetles titled after Daenerys Targaryen’s three dragons.

Even Leonardo DiCaprio has a beetle named after him.

"It has a serious side, but naming new species is the most fun a taxonomist can have," said Lessard.

Lessard said that scientists in Australia alone name around 1000 new species each year, with a scientific name made up of a genus name first, then a species name. There are certain rules, according to CSIRO, which stipulate that names shouldn't be insulting or derogatory, and even though it's highly tempting, you shouldn't name a species after yourself.

"At the current rate it will take another 350 years just to know what exists," he said.

Plenty more TV show names where that came from.