A number of species have been named after the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The names of the new species may refer to the

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...

itself, to the pandemic, to the

lockdowns A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

, or to something more intricate, such as the name of a person dead from the disease.

Animals

Fig-02-full Humbertium covidum Justine et al PeerJ 2022

(in alphabetical order of genera) * '' Achilia covidia'' Kurbatov, Cuccodoro & Sabella, 2021 (Insect,

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

Staphylinidae The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With roughly 63,000 species in thousands of genera, the ...

) – "the epithet of this new species refers to the COVID-19 pandemic and the periods of quarantine during which this study was carried out by the authors". * '' Achilia pandemica'' Kurbatov, Cuccodoro & Sabella, 2021 (Insect,

) – "the epithet of this new species refers to the COVID-19 pandemic and the periods of quarantine during which this study was carried out by the authors". * '' Achilia quarantena'' Kurbatov, Cuccodoro & Sabella, 2021 (Insect,

) – "the epithet of this new species refers to the COVID-19 pandemic and the periods of quarantine during which this study was carried out by the authors". * '' Allorhogas quarentenus'' Joele, Zaldívar-Riverón & Penteado-Dias, 2021 (Insect,

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order (biology), order of insects, comprising the sawfly, sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are Par ...

Braconidae The Braconidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. After the closely related Ichneumonidae, braconids make up the second-largest family in the order Hymenoptera, with about 17,000 recognized species and many thousands more undescribed. One analysis ...

) – "The name of this species refers to the COVID-19 pandemics with its subsequent undefined quarantine, which occurred while the authors were describing it". * '' Carinadelius medicus'' Ranjith, van Achterbergan Achterberg, Samartsev & Nasser, 2021 (Insect,

) – "Named after Friedrich Kasimir Medikus (1738 – 1808), a German physician and botanist. We dedicate this species with gratitude to all doctors and nurses for their timeless and uncompromising efforts to control COVID-19". * '' Cephalothrips corona'' Alavi & Minaei, 2021 (Insect,

Thysanoptera Thrips (order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Different thrips species feed mostly on plants by puncturing and sucking up the contents, although a few are ...

Phlaeothripidae Phlaeothripidae is a family of thrips with hundreds of genera. They are the only extant family of the suborder Tubulifera, alongside the extinct family Rohrthripidae and are themselves ordered into two subfamilies, the Idolothripinae with 80 g ...

) – "This article was prepared during the first author's quarantine period due to his positive test for the Coronavirus diseases". * ''

Coralliozetus clausus ''Coralliozetus'' is a genus of chaenopsid blennies mostly found in the eastern Pacific Ocean with one species ''( C. cardonae)'' occurring in the western Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, one species ''( C. clausus)'' is endemic to Cocos Island ...

'' Hastings, 2021 (Fish,

Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...

Chaenopsidae The blenny, blennioid family Chaenopsidae includes the pike-blennies, tube-blennies, and flagblennies, all percomorpha, percomorph marine fish in the order Blenniiformes. The family is strictly tropical, ranging from North America, North to South ...

) – " from the Latin meaning 'enclosed' or 'having been shut off,' in reference to the restricted distribution of this species, known only from Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. The name also refers to the isolation imposed on the author by the COVID-19 pandemic, providing an opportunity to complete the description of this species whose distinctiveness had been known for some time. The common name of "Pandemic Blenny" ("" in Spanish) is suggested in light of these difficult times". * '' Corethrella menini'' Feijó, Picelli, Ríos-Velásquez & Pessoa, 2021 (Insect,

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

Corethrellidae Corethrellidae are a family of biting midges, small flying insects belonging to the order Diptera, females of which feed on the blood of frogs. The members of the family are sometimes known as frog-biting midges. The family currently consists of ...

) – "''Corethrella menini'' sp. nov. is named in honor of Dr. Marcelo Menin as a tribute to his important work as a herpetologist, focused on ecology and biology of anurans. Marcelo was a professor of zoology who inspired dozens of zoology students, a beloved friend. He passed away too young during the COVID pandemic." * '' Gigantometopus coronobtectus'' Kim, Taszakowski & Jung, 2021 (Insect,

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...

Miridae The Miridae are a large and diverse insect family at one time known by the taxonomic synonym Capsidae. Species in the family may be referred to as capsid bugs or "mirid bugs". Common names include plant bugs, leaf bugs, and grass bugs. It is the ...

) – "''Coronobtectus'' from the name "coronavirus" and the Latin word , meaning covered, because the dark band on its frons resembles dark protective masks worn by people during the pandemic of COVID-19." * ''

Humbertium covidum ''Humbertium covidum'' is a species of predatory land flatworm, found in France and Italy. The Holotype specimen is MNHN JL351B. Description ''H. covidum'' is a small hammerhead flatworm, about in length. The dorsal face is completely metalli ...

'' Justine, Gastineau, Gros, Gey, Ruzzier, Charles & Winsor, 2022 (Flatworm,

Tricladida A planarian is one of the many flatworms of the traditional class (biology), class Turbellaria. It usually describes free-living flatworms of the order Tricladida (triclads), although this common name is also used for a wide number of free-li ...

Geoplanidae Geoplanidae is a family of flatworms known commonly as land planarians or land flatworms. These flatworms are mainly predators of other invertebrates, which they hunt, attack and capture using physical force and the adhesive and digestive proper ...

) – "the specific name ''covidum'' was chosen as homage to the numerous casualties worldwide of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, a large part of this study was written during the lockdowns" * '' Nisitrus rindu'' Robillard & Tan, 2021 (Insect,

Orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grassho ...

Gryllidae The family ''Gryllidae'' contains the subfamilies and genera which entomologists now term true crickets. Having long, whip-like antennae, they belong to the Orthopteran suborder Ensifera, which has been greatly reduced in the last 100 years (''e ...

) – "This species name refers to the word '', which means 'love'

erb Erb, ERB or ErB may refer to: People * Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950), American author * Erb of Gwent (–), king of Gwent and Glywysing Surname * Abraham Erb (1772–1830), American-born Canadian settler * Albrecht Erb (1628–1714), Aus ...

Iban IBAN or Iban or Ibán may refer to: Banking * International Bank Account Number Ethnology * Iban culture * Iban language * Iban people Given name Cycling * Iban Iriondo (born 1984) * Iban Mayo (born 1977) * Iban Mayoz (born 1981) Football * ...

group of indigenous people from Borneolanguage and 'home-sickness' = 'miss'

Bahasa Melayu Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi: , Rencong: ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines and T ...

(Malay language) and

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

. This new species is dedicated to the front-liners fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic who were far from their homes and loved ones during the early phase of the global pandemic (when the speciesʼ name was chosen)". * '' Oxymorus johnprinei'' Borovec & Meregalli, 2020 (Insect,

Curculionidae The Curculionidae are a family of weevils, commonly called snout beetles or true weevils. They are one of the largest animal families, with 6,800 genera and 83,000 species described worldwide. They are the sister group to the family Brentidae. T ...

) – named "in memory of the late

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

(1946–2020), American folk singer and songwriter who sadly passed away due to covid-19 while the authors were completing the paper" * '' Parmulopsyllus iamarinoi'' Borges, Farias, Mácola, Neves & Johnsson, 2021 (Crustacean,

Siphonostomatoida Siphonostomatoida is an order of copepods, containing around 75% of all the copepods that parasitise fishes. Their success has been linked to their possession of siphon-like mandibles and of a "frontal filament" to aid attachment to their hosts. ...

Entomolepididae Entomolepididae is a family of crustaceans belonging to the order Siphonostomatoida Siphonostomatoida is an order of copepods, containing around 75% of all the copepods that parasitise fishes. Their success has been linked to their possession ...

) – "named in honor of Atila Iamarino, biologist, PhD in microbiology and scientific communicator for his notorious work informing, educating and raising awareness in combating misinformation about covid- 19". * '' Potamophylax coronavirus'' Ibrahimi, 2021 (Insect,

Trichoptera The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the b ...

Limnephilidae __NOTOC__ Limnephilidae is a family of caddisflies with about 100 genera. They belong to the main lineage of case-constructing caddisflies, the Integripalpia or tube-case caddisflies. The Limnephilidae is one of the most species-rich Trichoptera f ...

) – named after the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

* '' Periclimenaeus karantina'' Park & De Grave, 2021 (Crustacean,

Decapoda The Decapoda or decapods (literally "ten-footed") are an order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, including many familiar groups, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp and prawns. Most decapods are scavengers. The order is esti ...

Palaemonidae Palaemonidae is a family of shrimp in the order Decapoda. Many species are carnivores that eat small invertebrates, and can be found in any aquatic habitat except the deep sea. One significant genus is ''Macrobrachium'', which contains commerc ...

) – named from the Greek (, 'quarantine'), referring to the lifestyle of the new species within the host ascidian species. It also alludes to the quarantine of human society due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), during which time this paper was written. * '' Segestes nostosalgos'' Tan & Wahab, 2020 (Insect,

Tettigoniidae Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids (especially in North America), or bush crickets. They have previously been known as "long-horned grasshoppers". More than 8,000 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifera, t ...

) – named after 'homecoming' (, 'homecoming' in Greek) and 'pain' (, 'pain, grief or distress' in Greek). The authors wrote that "the species is dedicated to those who are far away from home during the Covid-19 pandemic and any difficult times". * '' Sibogasyrinx clausura'' Kantor & Puillandre, 2021 (Mollusc,

Conoidea Conoidea is a superfamily of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks within the suborder Hypsogastropoda. This superfamily is a very large group of marine mollusks, estimated at about 340 recent valid genera and subgenera, and considered ...

Cochlespiridae Cochlespiridae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea. This family is not well differentiated morphologically, and there is poor congruence betwe ...

) – named (noun in apposition), meaning 'lockdown', "with reference to the sanitary restrictions associated with SARS-COV-2 that prevailed over much of the World when this manuscript was finalized". * '' Stethantyx covida'' Khalaim & Ruíz-Cancino, 2020 (Insect,

Ichneumonidae The Ichneumonidae, also known as the ichneumon wasps, Darwin wasps, or ichneumonids, are a family (biology), family of parasitoid wasps of the insect order Hymenoptera. They are one of the most diverse groups within the Hymenoptera with roughly 2 ...

) – "named after the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) because the taxon was described while the outbreak of this virus in Mexico." * '' Thoonchus covidus'' Zograf, Pyvlyuk, Trebukhova & Li, 2020 (

Nematode The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...

Enchelidiidae Enchelidiidae is a family of nematodes belonging to the order Enoplida Enoplida is an order of nematodes. It is one of two orders in Enoplia, which is one of two subclasses in Class Enoplea. * '' Trigonopterus corona'' Narakusumo & Riedel, 2021 (Insect,

) – named after the

* '' Typhlamphiascus medici'' Gómez, Corgosinho & Rivera-Sánchez, 2021 (Crustacean,

Harpacticoida Harpacticoida is an order of copepods, in the subphylum Crustacea. This order comprises 463 genera and about 3,000 species; its members are benthic copepods found throughout the world in the marine environment (most families) and in fresh water ( ...

, Miraciidae) – "The specific epithet from the Latin '', 'doctor', 'physician', is dedicated in honour and to the memory of all physicians and health personnel for their self-sacrifice during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic."

Fungi

(in alphabetical order of genera) * '' Dendrostoma covidicola'' Samarak. & Jian K. Liu, 2021 (

Diaporthales Diaporthales is an order of sac fungi. Wijayawardene et al. in 2020 added a number of name families to the order. Diaporthales includes a number of plant pathogenic fungi, the most notorious of which is '' Cryphonectria parasitica'' (Murrill) B ...

, Erythrogloeaceae) — the epithet covidicola referring to "the COVID-19 pandemic and as a tribute to the battle against COVID-19." * '' Diabolocovidia claustri'' – name of genus (''Diabolocovidia'') based on the virus and name of species (''claustri'') based on the lockdown * '' Laboulbenia quarantenae'' De Kesel & Haelew., 2020 (

Laboulbeniales The Laboulbeniales is an order of Fungi within the class Laboulbeniomycetes. They are also known by the colloquial name beetle hangers or labouls. The order includes around 2,325 species of obligate insect ectoparasites that produce cellular ...

Laboulbeniaceae The Laboulbeniaceae are a family of fungi in the order Laboulbeniales. Taxa have a widespread distribution, and are parasitic to various orders of insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insect ...

) – named after the quarantine.

Plants

(in alphabetical order of genera) *'' Hypnea corona'' Huisman & Petrocelli, 2021 (Algae,

Gigartinales Gigartinales is a red algae order in the class Florideophyceae Florideophyceae is a class of red algae. They were once thought to be the only algae to bear pit connections, but these have since been found in the filamentous stage of the Bang ...

, Cystocloniaceae) – the authors wrote: "The epithet is from the Latin (a crown) and refers to crown-like appearance of the propagules. This epithet was selected prior to the 2020/2021 pandemic, but its use can also serve as a reminder of this difficult period".

References

External links

* *{{cite news , last1=Blakemore , first1=Erin , title=Scientists name newly discovered flatworm after covid-19 , url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/02/06/flathead-worms-covid-19/ , newspaper=Washington Post , access-date=25 February 2022 , date=6 February 2022 COVID-19 pandemic Zoological nomenclature Biological nomenclature Botanical nomenclature Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on science and technology