Thanks to loyal Zoner/Colboarder Gaia Faye who brought to my attention that despite Stephen Colbert’s statements to the contrary, there IS a bug named in honor of him, the Diamphipnoa colberti! The discoverer of the bug is Bill P. Stark and he says of the derivision of the name, “I am pleased to honor an entertaining, provocative, former American presidential candidate, Stephen Colbert, of The Colbert Report with this patronym.”
And what makes this insect so unique? From the abstract, it is said that “Diamphipnoa colberti is described from a single male specimen recently collected in Maule, Chile. The new species differs from known members of the genus in the bifurcate and slightly expanded epiproct apex.”
I don’t know what that means, but I stand behind it. Here’s the bit about the bugs from last night in case you missed it.
Really!?! That’s hysterical!
Ah, the state of the Colbert Nation is strong indeed.
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Get outta town!!! I hope this gets a mention tonight or at some point on the show. How could they NOT want to talk about this?!?
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He probably forgot, with all the things named after him. Lol.
Though if he does mention it, he’ll have to announce a redaction, and we know from WPTS segment the other day how he hates to do that. :)
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Stephen’s building up on heck of a list of things names after him.
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He’s going to need a big ark. :-)
This is really cool!!!
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My, my. A Colbert with more than two legs! I’m not sure I can handle it!
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Viva colberti!
i want a bug for a pet that differs from known members of the genus in the bifurcate and slightly expanded epiproct apex!
BUG, please!
it is a really beautiful insect, for an insect, nonetheless.
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LOL! That’s a great find!
“slightly expanded epiproct apex!”
Is that bug talk for big brass balls? That would be appropriate. :)
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Not quite, but not far off. Boy was it difficult to find a relatively simple answer about the purpose of the epiproct.
As best as I can glean (not an entomologist) the epiproct is on the terminal (last) segment of the abdomen, and is part of the male external genitalia that is used to, uh, open the female’s parts for reproduction.
Diamphipnoa colberti’s epiproct is notched (bifurcated) and slightly larger at the tip, which is the defining feature of this new stonefly species.
(I hope this is FF enough)
http://www.jiffynotes.com/a_study_guides/book_notes/grze_03/grze_03_00186.html
Oh man — reCAPTCHA is “adequate 6.81″!!
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In other words, this bug is HUNG! :)
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You could say that — but at least it’s not like another species of stonefly (I skimmed research about so many I don’t know which one) whose epiproct, in the mating position, sometimes pokes through the female’s eye. ;o
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FYI: Entomology terms:
epiproct = a dorsal relic of abdominal segment 11
apex = tip, end, or highest point of structure
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Hey vigwig! ;)
Entomological etymology:
epiproct: word derived from its location on the insect
epi — above + proct — rect*m
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Awesome! :)
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Ladies… ;)
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well somebody make sure he hears about this and make sure NFZ gets a shout out!
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:) No problem. Of course I wouldn’t have remembered if the thread on the Colboard wasn’t bumped.
I wonder if they’ll mention it when they’re back from vacation.
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Did this bug get named right after the show, or has it been classified prior to this episode? And if so, how come Stephen didn’t know about it? Did scientist Bill P. Stark just not tell Stephen about it? That seems odd.
I’m guessing this was all manufactured to make it seem like someone from the Colbert Nation obliged to Stephen’s outlandish wish the moment he made it. What brilliance.
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It was mentioned a while back on the Colboards:
http://www.colboard.com/viewtopic.php?t=38691
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Dr. Bill P. Stark is a faculty member of Mississippi College. In the Acknowledgments section of his paper, Dr. Stark credits his colleague “D. Miller” for suggesting that the patronym colberti. “D. Miller” is likely Dr. D. G. Miller of the *English* Dept.
According to their website, Mississippi College is the second oldest Baptist college in the world.
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You know what, when I watched that segment, I kept thinking to myself, “Isn’t there already a bug named after him?”
I are a Colbert nerd.
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