i mean realistically, why not? most of those kanji are very rare
but theres no rule that says you have to write them a certain way
I asked the same question once myself and was told that:
– if it uses non-standard/rarely used kanji then using kana is simply easier to read
– when animals (and other organisms) are referred to in a biological/academic context, it is customary to use katakana even for animals with common kanji, because it looks more “technical”
– it might just be a stylistic choice or a way to make that word stick out more
2 comments
i mean realistically, why not? most of those kanji are very rare
but theres no rule that says you have to write them a certain way
I asked the same question once myself and was told that:
– if it uses non-standard/rarely used kanji then using kana is simply easier to read
– when animals (and other organisms) are referred to in a biological/academic context, it is customary to use katakana even for animals with common kanji, because it looks more “technical”
– it might just be a stylistic choice or a way to make that word stick out more
Edit: Just found this stackexchange post which basically says the same thing: [https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/20840/why-are-the-names-of-plants-and-animals-often-written-in-katakana](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/20840/why-are-the-names-of-plants-and-animals-often-written-in-katakana)