List of organisms named after famous people
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2009) |
In binominal nomenclature it is accepted that the generic name or the specific name of an animal be formed to honor a person.
This page is a list of animals named after celebrities.
- Aegrotocatellus jaggeri — Mick Jagger[1]
- Aesopichthys — Aesop[1]
- Ablerus longfellowi — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow[1]
- Agaporomorphus colberti — Stephen Colbert[2]
- Agathidium bushi — George W. Bush[3]
- Agathidium cheneyi — Dick Cheney[3]
- Agathidium rumsfeldi — Donald Rumsfeld[3]
- Agathidium vaderi — Darth Vader
- Agra katewinsletae — Kate Winslet[4]
- Agra liv — Liv Tyler[1]
- Agra schwarzeneggeri — Arnold Schwarzenegger. In reference to the markedly developed (biceps-like) middle femora of the males of this species reminiscent of the actor's physique."[5]
- Albunea groeningi — Matt Groening[1]
- Aligheria — Dante Aligheri[1]
- Amaurotoma zappa — Frank Zappa
- Anomphalus jaggerius — Mick Jagger
- Anophthalmus hitleri — Adolf Hitler[6]
- Aptostichus angelinajolieae - Angelina Jolie
- Aptostichus stephencolberti - Stephen Colbert
- Arcticalymene viciousi — Sid Vicious[1]
- Arcticalymene rotteni — Johnny Rotten[1]
- Arcticalymene jonesi — Steve Jones[1]
- Arcticalymene cooki — Paul Cook[1]
- Arcticalymene matlocki — Glen Matlock[1]
- Arthurdactylus conandoylei — Arthur Conan Doyle. Found in jungle similar to where The Lost World was set.[1]
- Attenborosaurus — David Attenborough. Plesiosaur "in honor of the naturalist and filmmaker, whose childhood fascination with Liassic plesiosaurs sparked a brilliant career in scientific journalism."
- Avahi cleesei — John Cleese. Woolly lemur, Cleese played a lemur-happy zookeeper in the film Fierce Creatures, hosted a documentary on lemurs, and is concerned with wildlife conservation.
- Avalanchurus simoni — Paul Simon
- Avalanchurus garfunkeli — Art Garfunkel
- Avalanchurus lennoni — John Lennon
- Avalanchurus starri — Ringo Starr
- Baeturia hardyi — Oliver Hardy[1]
- Baeturia laureli — Stan Laurel[1]
- Baru darrowi — Paul Darrow
- Beethovena — Ludwig van Beethoven[1]
- Bishopina mozarti — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart[1]
- Bufonaria borisbeckeri — Boris Becker[1]
- Buddhaites — Buddha
- Calponia harrisonfordi — Harrison Ford
- Campsicnemius charliechaplini — Charlie Chaplin. This fly dies with its midlegs in a bandy-legged position.[1][7]
- Carlyleia — Thomas Carlyle[1]
- Cirolana mercuryi — Freddie Mercury. East African isopod named for "arguably Zanzibar's most famous popular musician and singer."
- Confucius — Confucius
- Confuciusornis sanctus — Confucius. Feathered dinosaur - "holy Confucius' bird".
- Cryptocercus garciai — Jerry Garcia
- Daisya obriani — Patrick O'Brian. A species of weevil named for the author of the Aubrey-Maturin books.
- Dalailama — Dalai Lama. Bombycid moth from Tibet.
- Diplodocus carnegii — Andrew Carnegie. A species of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Jurassic period.
- Draculoides bramstokeri — Bram Stoker[1]
- Emersonella — Ralph Waldo Emerson[1]
- Eristalis alleni — Paul Allen
- Eristalis gatesi — Bill Gates
- Fernandocrambus chopinellus — Frédéric Chopin[1]
- Funkotriplogynium iagobadius — James Brown. Iago is "James" and badius is "brown" in Latin
- Garylarsonus — Gary Larson[1]
- Gnathia beethoveni — Ludwig van Beethoven[1]
- Goethaeana — Johann Goethe[1]
- Goethaeana shakespearei — Johann Goethe and William Shakespeare[1]
- Hyla stingi — Sting. Colombian tree frog named in recognition of his work for the rain forest.
- Idiomacromerus longfellowi — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow[1]
- Keatsia — John Keats[1]
- Kerygmachela kierkegaardi — Søren Kierkegaard
- Legionella shakespearei — William Shakespeare[1]
- Lutheria — Martin Luther
- Mackenziurus johnnyi — Johnny Ramone
- Mackenziurus joeyi — Joey Ramone
- Mackenziurus deedeei — Dee Dee Ramone
- Mackenziurus ceejayi — C. J. Ramone
- Masiakasaurus knopfleri — Mark Knopfler
- Mastophora dizzydeani — Dizzy Dean. The spider uses a sticky ball on the end of a thread to catch its prey.[1]
- Marxella — Karl Marx
- Microchilo elgrecoi — El Greco[1]
- Microchilo murilloi — Bartolomé Esteban Murillo[1]
- Milesdavis — Miles Davis
- Mozartella beethoveni — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven[1]
- Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi — Neil Young
- Norasaphus monroeae — Marilyn Monroe. Trilobite with an hourglass shaped glabella.
- Orectochilus orbisonorum — Roy Orbison and his widow Barbara Orbison. Whirligig beetle from India.
- Orontobia dalailama — Dalai Lama. Tiger moth from Tibet.
- Orsonwelles — Genus named after Orson Welles.
- Pachygnatha zappa — Frank Zappa. An orb-weaver spider, it has a black marking under its abdomen curiously reminiscent of Frank Zappa's mustache.
- Papasula abbotti costelloi — Lou Costello[8][9][verification needed] (in allusion to Abbott and Costello - however the species was named abbotti honoring William Louis Abbott)[10]
- Perirehaedulus richardsi — Keith Richards
- Petrochirus diogenes — Diogenes of Sinope
- Petula (tineid genus) — Petula Clark[1]
- Phanaeus changdiazi — Dr. Franklin Chang-Díaz. Costa Rican-American physicist and former NASA Astronaut.
- Pheidole harrisonfordi — Harrison Ford
- Phialella zappai — Frank Zappa. A jellyfish named as part of Ferdinando Boero's plan to get to meet Frank Zappa. "There is nothing I'd like better than having a jellyfish named after me" - Frank Zappa.
- Platoninae — Plato
- Plutarchia — Plutarch[1]
- Podocyrtis goetheana — Johann Goethe[1]
- Preseucoila imallshookupis — Elvis Presley. And the specific name for one of his songs.
- Psephophorus terrypratchetti — Terry Pratchett. He wrote a series of fantasy books set on a world carried on the back of a giant turtle.[1]
- Pseudoparamys cezannei — Paul Cézanne[1]
- Raphaelana — Raphael[1]
- Richteria — Jean Richter[1]
- Rostropria garbo — Greta Garbo. Diapriid wasp described as "a solitary female".
- Salinoctomys loschalchalerosorum — Los Chalchaleros[1]
- Sappho — Sappho[1]
- Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei — Arthur C. Clarke[1]
- Serratoterga garylarsoni — Gary Larson[1]
- Shakespearia — William Shakespeare[1]
- Stasimopus mandelai - Nelson Mandela
- Strigiphilus garylarsoni — Gary Larson[1]
- Struszia mccartneyi — Paul McCartney
- Sylvilagus palustris hefneri — Hugh Hefner (Sylvilagus is a genus of rabbit)
- Thoreauia — Henry David Thoreau[1]
- Xanthosomnium froesei — Edgar Froese. "Xanthosomnium" is a translation of Tangerine Dream.
- Zaglossus attenboroughi — David Attenborough (again)
- Zappa — Frank Zappa. Ed Murdy, who renamed the genus, says, "I like his music."[1][11]
- Nepenthes attenboroughii and Blakea attenboroughii (plants) — David Attenborough (again)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature
- ^ http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/05/07/stephen-colbert-has-new-species-named-after-him/
- ^ a b c President Bush calls to say thanks for the slime-mold beetle
- ^ CBS News (9 December 2008)
- ^ Erwin, T. L. (2002). The Beetle Family Carabidae of Costa Rica: Twenty-nine new species of Agra Fabricius 1801 (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Lebiini, Agrina). Zootaxa 119 1-68.
- ^ Being a beetle is probably not easy. Even less so, when you're named after Adolf Hitler, accessed on May 8, 2009
- ^ http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-10/2007-10-01-voa13.cfm?CFID=193725755&CFTOKEN=70266476&jsessionid=de30a3f3158868acf7fb7735e633a3041426
- ^ Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature, under Sula abotti costelloi; Sula abotti is a valid synonym of Papasula abotti.
- ^ Graufußtölpel, German Wikipedia, accessed on May 8, 2009.
- ^ Abbott's Booby, English Wikipedia, accessed on May 8, 2009.
- ^ Zappa confluentus - A Fish Called Zappa