Aliboron Explained

Aliboron is a genus of beetles in the family Cerambycidae, containing the following species:

• Aliboron antennatum J. Thomson, 1864
• Aliboron bukidnoni Vives, 2005
• Aliboron granulatum Breuning, 1966
• Aliboron laosense Breuning, 1968
• Aliboron wongi Hüdepohl, 1987

Etymology

The genus was named by James Thomson in 1864; the type species is Aliboron antennatum.

The name Aliboron is that of the donkey in La Fontaine's fable "The thieves and the ass" (Les voleurs et l’âne, I.13); from La Fontaine the word aliboron entered French as a generic name for a donkey (compare Reynard). The name "Maistre Aliboron" for an ass has been suggested to originate from:

• black hellebore, used in medicines, thus perhaps for panaceas, and thus perhaps for (quack) doctors;
• Al-Biruni (973–1048), a Persian philosopher;
• the Latin phrase magister aliborum, "master of alibis."

In 1910, Roland Dorgelès tied a paintbrush to a donkey's tail and exhibited the resulting artwork at the Société des Artistes Indépendants under the name Boronali (an anagram of "Aliboron").

References

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Notes and References

1. Web site: Aliboron (J. Thomson, 1864) . BioLib.cz . 2024-04-26.
2. Web site: Aliboron . Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales . fr . 2024-04-26.
3. Encyclopedia: aliboron . . Le livre des jolis mots . Belfond . Paris . 1993 . fr . 24 . 2-7144-2986-6 . 2024-04-26.