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 fin…

Or being the lesser frigatebird when your cousin is called magnificent.

It used to known as “Intermediate Egret” until it got split into several species a couple years ago.

Frothy Porecrust . I can just imagine the committee of mycologists who named this one. I suspect the committee meeting was after work time and accompanied by adult beverages.

Also not animals, these plant names seem to have marketing built in… Genus Carissa ( Num-Nums ) Karoo Num-Num Carissa haematocarpa Forest Num-num aka Num-num Carissa bispinosa and like most families, they have that one sibling… Conkerberry Carissa ovata

No love for stinkhorns? For shame. Not only is the common name funny, but their taxonomy… Order Phallales, family Phallaceae, with one of the genera being Phallus . I am a mature adult, I swear! On the same note, Amorphophallus titanum . That is all.

Fairy Aprons (Utricularia dichotoma) because changing clothes is still annoying even when you can do it with magic (?) :laughing:

Un escorpión verde is a galliwasp. It’s neither scorpion nor wasp; it’s a lizard. Las moscas de los cactus are bromeliad flies (in the genus Copestylum). They are indeed flies, but no cactus is a bromeliad.

Funny, long, or just plain weird animal names

Nature Talk

phma March 21, 2025, 9:01am 688

A couple in Spanish:
Palabritas (wordlets): the clam Donax, not to be confused with the plant Donax. Ancient Greek δόναξ meant both a reed (Arundo donax, not the genus Donax) and some shellfish.
Ratón meteoro (meteor mouse): a vole.

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Funny, long, or just plain weird animal names

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