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3 Rare Australian Beetles Named After Pokémon

(SOUNDBITE OF "POKEMON" THEME SONG)

NOEL KING, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Noel King. Pokemon are real - that is, if you discover rare beetles and need names for them. A pair of researchers found some bugs in Australia and named them after legendary Pokemon Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. These bugs look nothing like their namesakes, and the researchers get that. But they hope that connecting them to rare Pokemon will raise awareness for conserving biodiversity, which means maybe you shouldn't try to catch 'em all. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.