Strumigenys ayersthey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Strumigenys ayersthey | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Genus: | Strumigenys |
| Species: | S. ayersthey |
| Binomial name | |
| Strumigenys ayersthey | |
Strumigenys ayersthey is a species of ant found in Chocó region of Ecuador.[1] It is the only species belonging to the group of Strumigenys that has a long jaw, bigger jaw structure and lacks stretches in its cuticule.[2]
S. ayersthey is named after artist and human rights activist Jeremy Ayers, and is the first species to have a nonbinary binomial name, in honor of Ayers' activism.[3]
Traditionally, binomial nomenclature — how new or revised species are named — follows a grammatical gender binary (see International Code of Zoological Nomenclature § Gender agreement). This means that when a species is named after a human, the specific name (the second of the pair of names) will end with one of two suffixes:[3]
- an "-ae" suffix to honor individual women or groups of women; for example Adelomyrmex dorae after myrmecologist Dora Luz Martínez Tlapa, or
- an "-i" suffix to honor individual men, groups of men, or groups of people of mixed gender; for example, Sphecomyrma freyi after a couple who found that species' type specimen, the Freys.
According to Booher, Ayers himself identified as a gay man; the "they" suffix was intended to honor both Ayers's LGBT activism and the non-binary community.[3]
