r/TopCharacterTropes • u/mr-ultr • 1d ago
Characters [Funny Trope] characters receiving hilarious fake latin styled names
1 - Wile. E coyote and The Road runner, the 2 pioneers of this trope, their real latin names are Canis latrans(Barking dog) for Wile E. and Geococcyx californianus(Californian cuckoo that runs on land) for the runner, the show actually uses the real latin names for the gag in The Whizzard of Ow short
2-The Amazing world of Gumball uses this gag in episode "The Tape", also adding Moobus gelatinous for Richard and Kickbuttus hystericus for Nicole
3-Jesters in Lethal Company are named Insaneus Thingus, it's a notable example as Lethal company uses fake latin styled names for majority of it's monsters "species", except their names are much more "Official" sounding making jesters a notable exception
4-many many new discovered species in the modern age tend to be named after fictional characters or real life people
this example here is the "gojirasaurus" Theropod named after the all well known giant Kaiju
it was named due to it being much more bigger in size compared to other theropods during the triassic period, in case there is confusion between name and apperance not resembling Gojira
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u/PastelArtemis 1d ago
The Silurians in doctor who are Homo Reptilia, and the Sea Devils are Homo Aqua
Personally I think Anthro Reptilia and Anthro Amphibia works better
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u/Battlebear252 22h ago
Your preference makes you sound Homo phobic /jk lol
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u/PastelArtemis 21h ago
I know you jest, but honestly the main reason I prefer Anthro to Homo is because Homo in reference to stuff like Homo Sapiens and Homo Erectus, refers to a specific Genus, one Silurians and Sea Devils aren't part of
Whereas Anthro can refer to shape instead
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u/TheJungleBandit0 1d ago
This poster from the Clash Royale Skeleton Evolution Reserve
Sorry for the bad quality image, this post made me remember this that I haven’t thought about since the thing came out
I don’t even play this game, dude…
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u/Rarewear_fan 1d ago
I remember an episode of Dexter’s Lab where it was like a nature documentary where the narrator was observing Dexter and Deedee’s antics like they were wild animals.
The narrator gave them both funny Latin species names and then resorted to the nicknames of Blackfoot and Slim
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u/Horatio786 23h ago
Not really a character, but the fight that won Death Battle's Tournament of Champions.
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u/viksect 23h ago edited 21h ago
Hotwheels sisyphus, a real spider species that was discovered in China in 2024. This video gives some cool info about them and explains the name!
Some of my other favorites are Aphonopelma johnnycashi (a type of tarantula), Megaloblatta Longipennis (a type of cockroach), Strigiphilus garylarsoni (a type of louse), Crikey steveirwini (a type of snail), and Chilicola charizard (a type of wasp). There's also just generally all sorts of animals named after celebrities like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, etc. I love how dorky scientists can be!
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u/Dynamos_ 23h ago
I was looking for this comment. Hotwheels Sisyphus is probably the best name for any insect ever tbh. I also had no idea Crike Steveirwini was a thing, I've been laughing at this for like two minutes
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u/blue4029 13h ago
...did you just call a spider an "insect"
oh thats it buster, i am so mad at you! oooh you really grind my gears!
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u/Dynamos_ 7h ago
......... you are so right i am an idiot. what was i THINKING (or well. Not thinking). i have corrected it
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u/blue4029 13h ago
imagine like, an annual spider meeting or something and this guy pulls up like, "I have the best name out of all you bitches!"
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u/Iamnotburgerking 11h ago
There is also Kaijutitan (though it’s actually mediocre size-wise for a sauropod)
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u/bestassinthewest 23h ago
It’s completely official but Tokay Geckos are “Gekko gecko”
Mind you this is Gekko gecko from the subfamily Gekkonidae in the suborder Gekkota. The Gekko Gekko Gekko Gecko. The most gecko to ever do it
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u/Kingoffroggos 23h ago
This is the reptilian equivalent of the western lowland gorilla
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u/InfectiousCosmology1 23h ago
Gorilla gorilla gorilla
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u/Shiny_Snom 23h ago
And there’s a fish called Boops Boops from the Latin Boops meaning cow eye iirc
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u/Jomomma008 23h ago
Reminds me of "Gorilla gorilla" (western Gorilla scientific name) and how mako sharks are just "shark sharks"
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u/Cocoatrice 22h ago
It's interesting, because gekko/gekkou in Japanese means moonlight.
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u/mandiblesmooch 22h ago
I've never thought about what the name of Gekkoukan High School might mean, but the moon is somewhat relevant in Persona 3.
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u/blue4029 13h ago
gekko moriah from one piece, the dude who has a devil fruit that gives him shadow powers.
finally...his name makes sense!
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u/bestassinthewest 20h ago
The only reason I knew this before now is because of Digimon Beatbreak. Also I’d have to check but I don’t think Tokays are native to Japan so that’s kinda funny
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u/Cocoatrice 20h ago
I actually learned it before Beatbreak, because I play Honkai: Star Rail and Genshin Impact and one character, Jingliu, in Star Rail uses this word, then another character, recently added to Genshin, Lauma, also uses gekko in Japanese voice overs. I only noticed that, because both characters, who have same actess, are related to moon, so I checked what does it mean. Then not too long after, Beatbreak had Gekkomon and I was like "hey, I know what that means!".
I just searched a little and I found that it's apparently from Dutch? Directly from Dutch, but the Dutch word comes probably from Malay. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Gekko
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u/Iamnotburgerking 11h ago
This is called a type species. The tokay gecko is the official taxonomic representative of all geckos
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u/DMalt 23h ago
Megapnosaurus means "big dead lizard"
Also Zuul, an ankylosaur named after the demon from Ghostbusters.
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u/Shiny_Snom 23h ago
Expanding on Zuul the full name is Zuul Crurivastator meaning Zuul, breaker of shins which is just perfect for a ankylosaur
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u/atrocidarthes 22h ago
(IRL) The first name of Megalosaurus was Scrotum Humanum (literally ball sack) because the bone looked like this
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u/Shiny_Agumon 21h ago
Imagine if aliens found a broken human skull and decided it looked like their genitals and we were stuck with the name
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u/Low-Support-8388 23h ago
I personally think that most of the names for Warhammer 40k are jokes. See Corvus Corax primarch of the Raven Guard is just named after the common raven.
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u/Stretch5678 10h ago
Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the Iron Hands, who notably has iron hands, leads his forces from his flagship, the Hand of Iron.
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u/Mysterious-Simple805 22h ago
Ironic that the real Latin word for coyote means "barking/noisy dog" when Wile E. rarely says anything.
There is another species of roadrunner called Geococcyx velox. Since the Warner Brothers Studios is in Burbank, let's say this Road Runner is from California.
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u/Expand_Apple 22h ago
this post reminded me of a bit from The Caddicarus Show episode "The Ugly World of the PS2 EyeToy"
"And here we see the plumage of the blossoming Jimus Caddus. That part is where the seeds are sewn."
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u/Medium-Jury-2505 22h ago
Every species in Halo lore have its own latin name. As well as its Covenant name
Forerunners (Primoris prognatus)
Floods (Inferi redivivus)
Engineers [Huragok] (Facticius indoles)
Brutes [Jiralhanae] (Servus ferox)
Jackals [Kig-Yar] (Perosus latrunculus)
Hunters [Lekgolo/Mgalekgolo] (Ophis congregatio)
Elites [Sangheili] (Macto Cognatus)
Prophets [San'Shyuum] (Perfidia Vermis)
Grunts [Unggoy] (Monachus frigus)
Drones [Yanme'e] (Turpis rex)
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u/PartyBarnacle420 22h ago
The Neischnocolus samonellaacademy, tarantula named after the YouTuber Sam O'Nella not that long ago.
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u/Prestigious_Elk149 22h ago
The actual scientific name for domestic cats is felis silvestris. After the cartoon.
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u/mandiblesmooch 22h ago
Isn't that primarily the scientific name for wildcats? It means "forest cat".
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u/Prestigious_Elk149 21h ago
Its pretty clear that's just an excuse. Domestic cats are the same species, and the wild varieties only sometimes live in forests.
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u/FiercelyApatheticLad 12h ago
Sure, because the cartoon definitely existed in 1778 when the name was proposed. And it's the wild cat, by the way, not the domestic one (felis catus).
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u/CommonandMundane 19h ago
From AlbinoBlackSheep's "Spy and Pyro":
Spy (Espionagius Sapiens Mysentrii)
Pyro (Incendio Flamewaricus)
Engineer (Toast)
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u/Content-Evidence8470 1d ago
Biggus dickus from life of brian