eBay score: a new insect species

Sure, you can score vintage cars, one-of-a-kind guitar straps, even the odd linkurl:mass spectrometer;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15309/ on linkurl:eBay.;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15331/ But now it seems that a place in science history can also be purchased on the popular auction website. So learned entomologist linkurl:Richard Harrington,;http://www.rothamsted.bbsrc.ac.uk/Research/Centres/index.php?Centre=BCC vice president of the United Kingdom's Royal Entom

| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share
Sure, you can score vintage cars, one-of-a-kind guitar straps, even the odd linkurl:mass spectrometer;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15309/ on linkurl:eBay.;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15331/ But now it seems that a place in science history can also be purchased on the popular auction website. So learned entomologist linkurl:Richard Harrington,;http://www.rothamsted.bbsrc.ac.uk/Research/Centres/index.php?Centre=BCC vice president of the United Kingdom's Royal Entomological Society, when he recently bought an insect encased in a chunk of pre-historic amber on the site. As the linkurl:BBC;http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7572052.stm reported, the insect turned out to be a previously undescribed linkurl:aphid;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/21057/ species that has been extinct for millions of years. Harrington, who is deputy science director at the centre for bioenergy and climate change at agricultural research organization Rothamsted Research, bought the pill-size bead of Balkan amber from a Lithuanian eBay user for 20 British pounds and sent it to renowned fossil aphid expert Ole Heie in Copenhagen. Heie determined that the insect, a member of the __Mindarus__ genus, was new to science and named the new species __Mindarus harringtoni__ after Harrington. While ecstatic about his find, Harrington toyed with the idea of giving the new species a more playful name. "I wanted the aphid to be named __Mindarus ebayi__," he said in a Rothamsted Research linkurl:statement,;http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/corporate/PressReleases/PressReleases.php?PRID=48 "but flippant species names are frowned upon these days! I'm delighted to have a work of nature named after me - even if it is an extinct fossil!"
Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • Bob Grant

    From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer.
Share
May digest 2025 cover
May 2025, Issue 1

Study Confirms Safety of Genetically Modified T Cells

A long-term study of nearly 800 patients demonstrated a strong safety profile for T cells engineered with viral vectors.

View this Issue
iStock

TaqMan Probe & Assays: Unveil What's Possible Together

Thermo Fisher Logo
Meet Aunty and Tackle Protein Stability Questions in Research and Development

Meet Aunty and Tackle Protein Stability Questions in Research and Development

Unchained Labs
Detecting Residual Cell Line-Derived DNA with Droplet Digital PCR

Detecting Residual Cell Line-Derived DNA with Droplet Digital PCR

Bio-Rad
How technology makes PCR instruments easier to use.

Making Real-Time PCR More Straightforward

Thermo Fisher Logo

Products

fujirebio-square-logo

Fujirebio Receives Marketing Clearance for Lumipulse® G pTau 217/ β-Amyloid 1-42 Plasma Ratio In-Vitro Diagnostic Test

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Biotium Launches New Phalloidin Conjugates with Extended F-actin Staining Stability for Greater Imaging Flexibility

Leica Microsystems Logo

Latest AI software simplifies image analysis and speeds up insights for scientists

BioSkryb Genomics Logo

BioSkryb Genomics and Tecan introduce a single-cell multiomics workflow for sequencing-ready libraries in under ten hours