The tiny moth, which has been named after President-elect Donald Trump, is called Neopalpa donaldtrumpi. | AP Photo Minuscule moth named after Trump

Donald Trump’s distinctive hairstyle has inspired the first species to be named after the president-elect: a tiny moth.

Evolutionary Biologist Vazrick Nazari noticed the newly-discovered species’ yellow and white scales on the top of its head, which led to him naming the species Neopalpa donaldtrumpi.


The moth’s habitat includes southern California and Baja California in Mexico. Nazari told LiveScience he hopes the naming of moth will raise awareness for conservation.

"I hope that the president will make conservation of such fragile ecosystems in the U.S. his top priority," he said. "These ecosystems still contain many undiscovered and undescribed species, and deserve to be protected for future generations."

Nazari discovered the species at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis. He was examining specimens of twirler moths from the North American moth family Gelechiidae. The N. donaldtrumpi is a miniscule moth, with average body lengths and wingspans of only 0.4 inches.

President Obama leaves office as the president with the greatest number of species named after him with nine: a spider, two rare river fish, a puffbird, an extinct lizard that lived alongside dinosaurs, two parasites, a lichen, and a reef fish discovered near a nature preserve that Obama expanded.

Trump’s hair has also inspired an unofficial moniker on another species, a flannel moth caterpillar dubbed the ‘Trumpapillar” found in the Peruvian Amazon.

