Rothschildi round the world
At first glance, species such as the Magnificent Frigate Bird and the Broad-striped Marsupial Mouse would appear unconnected. But they do share a common element through their technical (taxonomic) Latin names. They are both examples of ‘rothschildi’. They are not alone.
Responsible for much of this outbreak of ‘rothschildi’ across the animal kingdom was (Lionel) Walter, 2nd Lord Rothschild (1868-1937). As a child he surrounded himself with exotic animals. The gardens of the family home at Tring in Hertfordshire were populated by giant tortoises, lizards and wandering cassowaries. For a coming-of-age present, Walter was given by his father the answer to a long-held dream: a Museum in the back garden, where for nearly fifty years, he gathered together specimens of as many of the world’s species as he could find. This was more than a hobby; Walter was a serious researcher. Assisted by his two colleagues in the Museum, Ernst Hartert and Karl Jordan, Walter studied his collection minutely, publishing 42 volumes of a highly respected journal, Novitates Zoologicae, and between them describing, in some 1,200 scientific papers, some 5,000 hitherto unidentified species. It was for this great contribution to the study of natural history that Walter was so many times honoured by the application of the name Rothschild to identify particular sub-species newly discovered by the scientific world. Miriam Rothschild (1908-2005), Walter’s niece, identified well over 250 such names, including 58 birds, 153 insects, three spiders and a millipede.
In France, in 1904-1905 Maurice de Rothschild (1881-1957), explored Ethiopia and East Africa, leading to the publication of a detailed atlas and listing of the spiders and insects of the region and his scientific papers included detailed works on the sub-species of giraffes and okapis. Many of the world’s ‘rothschildi’ are of Maurice’s making.
Selected list of 'Rothschildi'
| Achias rothschildi | A Papua New Guinean stalk-eyed fly, with the widest head of any insect |
| Agrias beata beata rothschildi | A butterfly from Peru |
| Amazona barbadensis rothschildi | Rothschild’s Amazon, a parrot from the Caribbean and Northern S. America |
| Ancistrus Rothschild | A catfish |
| Astrapia rothschildi | The Huon Astrapia, a bird of paradise |
| Buteo buteo rothschildi | A buzzard from the Azores |
| Cassida rothschildi | A tortoise beetle from northern and eastern Africa |
| Celerio euphorbiae rothschildi | A hawk moth |
| Chalcophoropsis rothschildi | A beetle from Madagascar |
| Charmosyna p. rothschildii | Rothschild’s Fairy Lorikeet |
| Chiridopsis rothschildi | A beetle from East Africa |
| Closterus rothschildi | A beetle from Madagascar |
| Coendou rothschildi | Rothschild’s Porcupine, from Central America |
| Colletes rothschildi | A bee from Africa |
| Cypseloides rothschildi | Rothschild’s Swift |
| Delias rothschildi | A butterfly from Buru, Indonesia |
| Eos bornea rothsschildi | Rothschild’s Red Lory |
| Eriocnemis evelinae | The Glowing Puffleg |
| Fregata magnificens rothschildi | The Magnificent Frigatebird |
| Giraffa cameleopardalis rothschildi | Rothschild’s Giraffe, from Central Africa |
| Gygis alba rothschildi | The White Tern, from the tropical Pacific, Indian and S .Atlantic Oceans |
| Heliangelus rothschildi | The Rothschild Sunangel, a hummingbird |
| Ictonyx rothschildi | Striped weasel from North Africa |
| Isospora rothschildi | An oocyst hosted by Leucospar rothschildi |
| Ixodes rothschildi | A tick from Australia |
| Lampribis olivacea rothschildi | An extinct ibis from Equatorial Africa |
| Lampropepla rothschildi | A jewel beetle from Madagascar |
| Leucopsar rothschildii | The Bali Mynah or Bali White Starling |
| Mallomys rothschildi | Rothschild’s Woolly Rat, or the Giant New Guinean Rat from Irian Jaya and New Guinea, Indonesia |
| Murexia rothschildi | The Broad-Striped Marsupial Mouse, from Australia |
| Myospalax rothschildi | Rothschild’s Zokor, from Kansu, China |
| Odocoileus virginianus rothschildi | The Coiba Island White-Tailed Deer, from Panama |
| Ornithoptera rothschildi | A bird-wing butterfly from Indonesia |
| Petrogale rothschildi | A rock wallaby from Western Australia |
| Phaeton rubricauda rothschildi | The Red-Tailed Tropicbird, from the tropical and sub-Tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans |
| Phalanger rothschildi | The Rothschild’s or Obi Cuscus, a marsupial from the Obi and Bisa Islands of Indonesia |
| Phasianus colchicus rothschildi | Rothschild’s pheasant from eastern Asia |
| Phrynarachne rothschildi | Bird’s dung’ spider from Sri Lanka |
| Poecilictus rothschildi | Striped weasel from North Africa |
| Prepona rothschildi | A butterfly from Venezuela |
| Pyrenestes ostrinus rothschildi | The Black-Bellied See-cracker from Central Africa |
| Rhea rothschildi | A rhea from S. America |
| Schoenbergia rothschildi | A bird-wing butterfly from Irian Jaya, named after Walter who financed expeditions |
| Serinus rothschildi | The Arabian Serin, from Saudi Arabia |
| Tetramorium rothschildi | An ant from Ethiopia and Central Africa |
| Triflyphothax rothschildi | A beetle, identical with Tetramonium r. |
| Trigonophorus rothschildi | A scarab beetle from Taiwan |
| Xylophanes rothschildi bilineata | A hawk moth from Ecuador |
