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Science

New species of moth named after Donald Trump

Donald Trump's name won't just go down in history as the 45th president of the United States. He'll be forever remembered in taxonomy, as the name of a newly discovered species of moth.

Species discovered in museum collection

The Neopalpa donaldtrumpi moth is found in highly urbanized and populated areas. (Vazrick Nazari)

Donald Trump's name won't just go down in history as the 45th president of the United States. He'll be forever remembered in taxonomy, as the namesakeof a newly discovered species of moth.

The new moth namedNeopalpa donaldtrumpi is just the second belonging to a genus of twirler moths.

Vazrick Nazari, an evolutionary biologist and an expert in taxonomy, discovered the species while going through specimens borrowed from the Bohart Museum of Entomology at theUniversity of California. He decided to name it after Trump based on the yellowish-white scales found on the head of the adults, which, he said, resembles Trump's hair.

Unlike the real Trump,Neopalpadonaldtrumpiisn't native to New York. Instead, it can be found in California, Baja California and even Mexico.

It is found in highly urbanized and populated areas, and its habitat is under serious threat.

In a release, Nazari said that he hopes by naming it after Trump that it will bring more public attention and interest to understanding what he believes to be the "neglected micro-fauna component of the North American biodiversity."

In December, a new species of fish found only in the coral of a marine-protected area was named to honour U.S. President BarackObama, who had recently expanded the area.

The research was published in the journal ZooKeys.