A new species of bee fly in Australia has been named after Game of Thrones villain the Night King.
Paramonovius nightking
was given its name because it thrives in winter, has a crown of spine-like
hairs and turns other insects into "zombies", researchers said.
It
is about 1cm long (0.3 inches) and can be found during the winter in a small
area of Western Australia.
Some
230 new wildlife species have been named in Australia in the past year.
Paramonovius
nightking was originally discovered in 2012 by a pair of "citizen
scientists" in Wandoo National Park. Years later, Xuankun Li, a PhD
student at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
Organisation (CSIRO), confirmed that it was a new species.
CSIRO entomologist Dr
Bryan Lessard said the decision to name the species after the villain from the
hit HBO series came easily.
"Xuankun
is a huge Game of Thrones fan, and wanted to thank the show for the hours of
entertainment it's given him," he told the BBC.
"The
bee fly has many similarities with the Game of Thrones character; they both are
only found in winter and have a crown of thorn-like spines on their head.
Female bee flies lay their eggs on other insects, which hatch and eat that
insect from the inside out, turning them into walking zombies, just like the
real Night King."
"If it's happened
on a sci-fi or fantasy show, chances are that nature has done it first,"
Dr Lessard added.
Paramonovius
nightking is part of a group of flies that look like bees. Scientists believe
they have developed this way to avoid being eaten by birds, which know that
bees sting.
There
are more than 5,200 known species of bee flies around the world, but Dr Lessard
says there are likely to be "many more" that are currently
undocumented.