‘Duvalius djokovici’ – Serbia names new beetle species after its ‘rock n roll’ tennis star Novak Djokovic
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Novak Djokovic alongside a picture of the new species of beetles named after him
Scientists in Serbia have named a new beetle species called ‘duvalius djokovici’ after former World No.1 Novak Djokovic to honor him for his contributions to the country through sports.
“It is very quick and eats other small animals,” said Nikola Vesovic, a professor from the team of scientists said. The insect was described as “a specialized, blind, subterranean ground beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) found in a pit near the town of Ljubovija.”
“It is a predator in its underground environment, just as Novak is a kind of predator on the tennis courts,” Vesovic further explained.
In other news, Djokovic is set to face last year’s US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals of the ongoing Tokyo Open on Saturday. The Serb who was forced to sit out of the US Open this year due to non-compliance with vaccination norms in the country recently said it wasn’t easy for him to watch Grand Slam matches as a spectator in the recent past and that he is still hungry for more trophies.
Djokovic also sat out of the Australian Open this year due to his anti-vaccination stance in what turned out to be a raging controversy after the former World No.1 first landed in Melbourne claiming to have an exemption certificate before being ultimately deported out of the country.
In recent times, it was reported that the 21-time Grand Slam champion would be allowed to make a return in Australian Open 2023 as the COVID-19 scenario of now is much different than what it was before.
Snail named after Novak Djokovic
Last year, a newly discovered species of freshwater snail was also named after Serbian tennis ace to acknowledge his ‘inspiring enthusiasm and energy’. Researchers from Montenegro found ‘Travunijana djokovici’ in a karstic spring in the Dinaric Alps near the capital city of Podgorica during a field expedition back in 2019.
When asked about the same, he said: “I am honored, I am a big fan of nature and ecosystems. I try to live in harmony with nature. The news made me laugh.”
“I don’t know how symbolic this is, because throughout my career I always tried to be fast and then a snail was named after me,” Djokovic said, cracking a laugh. “Maybe it’s a message for me, telling me to slow down a bit!”
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Ashish Maggo
(191 Articles Published)