''Anophthalmus hitleri'' ( sl, Hitlerjev brezokec) is a species of blind cave

beetle 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 ...

found only in about fifteen humid caves in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

. The blind cave beetle shares its genus with 41 other species and 95 different subspecies. Members of its subfamily (

Trechinae Trechinae is a subfamily in the ground beetle family, Carabidae. Genera The subfamily includes the following genera: * '' Accoella'' Uéno, 1990 * '' Acheroniotes'' Lohai & Lakota, 2010 * '' Adriaphaenops'' Noesske, 1928 * '' Aepiblemus'' Belo ...

) are, like most

Carabidae Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it is one of the 10 most species-rich animal fami ...

, predatory, so the adults and larvae of ''A. hitleri'' are presumed to be predators on smaller cave inhabitants.

Name

The scientific name of the beetle comes from an Austrian collector, Oskar Scheibel, who was sold a specimen of a then undocumented species in 1933. Its species name was made a dedication to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

, who had recently become

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...

. The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

name means ''eyeless'', so the full name can be translated as "the eyeless one of Hitler". The dedication did not go unnoticed by the

Führer ( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader princip ...

, who sent Scheibel a letter showing his gratitude. The species exhibits no notable characteristics, such as extravagant colors or unusual antennae, and is of interest to beetle collectors (and also collectors of Hitler memorabilia) as a result of its name. This is putting the beetle in danger of extinction. While many have suggested the species be renamed, the

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the I ...

's principle of priority holds that the first name validly given to a species is its correct name and does not in general allow for a name to be invalidated due to causing offense. On the topic of ''A. hitleri'''s name, International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) President Thomas Pape says: "It was not offensive when it was proposed, and it may not be offensive 100 years from now." One potential solution suggested by the vice-president of the ICZN, Patrice Bouchard, is to "informally change the vernacular name."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q139796 Adolf Hitler Trechinae Cave beetles Beetles described in 1937 Beetles of Europe Endemic fauna of Slovenia Naming controversies

Name

See also

References