I used to often go through lists, google searches, and so on looking for funny/weird animal names. I have made quite a few lists already, and I thought I would make a post here to see if some of you know some good ones. plants and fungi also welcome :)
Here are some of my favorites that I can find right now:
My parents were ornithologists, so I was always into birding, but my Mom tells a similar story of not believing my Dad when he claimed he saw a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher.
One that I really like is Poecilotheria metallica aka Gooty sapphire ornamental (tarantula).
Also the New mexico whiptail, also known as the Leaping lesbian lizard, which posses the ability of parthenogenesis, meaning the all female population can reproduce!
Aleiodes cacuangoi, Aleiodes colberti, Aleiodes elleni, Aleiodes falloni, *Aleiodes frosti, Aleiodes gaga, Aleiodes kingmani, Aleiodes shakirae, Aleiodes stewarti
(tons of members of the same genus named after influential people, entertainers, and comedians. Apparently, Shakira’s belly-dancing reminded a hymenopterist of the writhing of a parasitized caterpillar targeted by this genus of parasitoid wasp)
An entire genus of spiders with species names for Orson Welles characters or movies. Example: Orsonwelles malus, named for Welles’ 1958 film Touch of Evil.
Once I was reading a perfectly straight-laced paper about ecological restoration in Australia, and did a double take when they referred to a certain tree using the common name “snottygloble.”