''Ricinus vaderi'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
chewing lice
The Mallophaga are a possibly paraphyletic section of lice
Louse ( : lice) is the common name for any member of the clade Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera has variously been reco ...
which parasitises the
calandra lark
The calandra lark (''Melanocorypha calandra'') or European calandra-lark breeds in warm temperate countries around the Mediterranean and eastwards through Turkey into northern Iran and southern Russia. It is replaced further east by its relative ...
(''Melanocorypha calandra'') in
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
.
[ ] It is a member of ''
Ricinus
''Ricinus communis'', the castor bean or castor oil plant, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus, ''Ricinus'', and subtribe, Ricininae. The evolution of cas ...
'', the largest genus of chewing lice found parasitizing
Passeriformes
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...
.
[Bernard C. Nelson (1972): ''A Revision of the New World Species of ''Ricinus'' (Mallophaga). Occurring on Passeriformes (Aves)'', University of California Publications in Entomology Volume 68, University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles,]
PDF
The species name is derived from
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
, a fictional character in the
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
series. According to Miroslav Valan, Oldrich Sychra and Ivan Literak,
the first author's fiancée noticed a similarity between the head of the ''R. vaderi'' and Darth Vader's helmet.
References
External links
EntomologyToday (26 February 2016): New Chewing Lice Species Named after Darth Vader
Lice
Star Wars
Insects described in 2016
Fauna of Azerbaijan
Darth Vader
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