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Super Saiyan Fish Discovered in Ishigaki, Japan
posted on by Ken Iikura-Gross
The University of the Ryukyus announced on Thursday that researchers had discovered a Super Saiyan… goby fish. The new species of goby fish, Vanderhorstia supersaiyan, was discovered off the coast of the Ishigaki Islands, Japan in the twilight zone of the ocean (about 100-300 meters or 300-1,000 feet below sea level). The new species was given its name for the patterns on its fins, which resemble the Super Saiyan from Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball manga.
The Vanderhorstia supersaiyan is not the only recently discovered species to receive an anime-related name. In early November, Chilean newspaper El Diario de Atacama reported a new species of ancient shark had been discovered and named Pochitaserra patriciacanalesae after Chainsaw Man character Pochita. According to comic book news outlet Comic Book Resources, the fossilized remains were found in the Atacama region of Chile.
If that were not enough, a new species of gynandromorph spider, exhibiting both male and female characteristics, named Damarchus Inazuma was discovered in Kanchanaburi, Thailand in early October. Named after One Piece character Inazuma, news outlet Forbes reports the spider was given to researchers at the Chulalongkorn University Museum of Natural History for further study.
In August 2024, a new species of crustacean was named after Ranma 1/2's Ranma Saotome. In 2019, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable stand “Love Deluxe” was used in the name of a new species of Neostygarctidae, Neostygarctus lovedeluxe. A velvet worm found in Vietnam's Cát Tiên National Park in 2014 was dubbed Eoperipatus totoro after Hayao Miyazaki's 1988 film My Neighbor Totoro.
The Toriyama estate, Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto, and One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda have not commented on the discoveries.
Sources: University of the Ryukyus, IT Media News' X/Twitter account and website via Game Yoridori Subcul Midori Park, Dexerto, Comic Book Resources, Weeb Central's X/Twitter account, CNN, via El Diario de Atacama, Forbes
