Some names are neither enigmatic nor absurd themselves but become so in combination with others. In 1907, the butterfly…
Some names are neither enigmatic nor absurd themselves but become so in combination with others.
In 1907, the butterfly researcher William Dunham Kearfott described a whole series of new species within the genus Eucosma. The genus belongs to the moth family Tortricidaeor leafroller moths, which include codling moths and other fruit pests. Eucosma bobanais one of Kearfott’s names, but only once it’s placed in concert with the other names, which run through nearly all the consonants in the alphabet, does the appeal of his creations manifest itself: bobana, cocana, dodana, fofana, hohana, kokana, lolana, momana, popana, rorana, sosana, totana, vovana, fandana, gandana, handana, kandana, mandana, nandana, randana, sandana, tandana, vandana, wandana, xandana, yandana, zandana, nomana, sonomana, vomonana, womonana, boxeana, canariana, foridana, idahoana,and miscana.