Organisms Named After People

Central American jumping spider named after Bagheera, a benevolent panther who guides young Mowgli in The Jungle Book, and the author Rudyard... Read more...

Central American jumping spider named after Bagheera, a benevolent panther who guides young Mowgli in The Jungle Book, and the author Rudyard Kipling himself. It's the first predominantly vegetarian spider known to science.

First described and named in 1984 by James D. Lazell Jr., whose research was partly funded by a contribution from Hugh Hefner's Playboy... Read more...

First described and named in 1984 by James D. Lazell Jr., whose research was partly funded by a contribution from Hugh Hefner's Playboy Corporation. The Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit was federally recognized as an endangered species in 1990.

A miniscule moth discovered in southern California by Vazrick Nazari, a Canadian biologist and researcher. Nazari says he chose the name “to bring... Read more...

A miniscule moth discovered in southern California by Vazrick Nazari, a Canadian biologist and researcher. Nazari says he chose the name “to bring wider public attention to the need to continue protecting fragile habitats in the U.S. that still contain many undescribed species," and also because of the yellow-white scales covering the moth's head.

A species of tarantula discovered in 2015 by C.A. Hamilton and colleagues. They named it after Johnny Cash because mature males of the species are... Read more...

A species of tarantula discovered in 2015 by C.A. Hamilton and colleagues. They named it after Johnny Cash because mature males of the species are all black--and they found it near Folsom Prison in California.

A parasitic wasp (47-51 in image composite), one of 24 new species of Aleiodes wasps discovered in Ecuador in 2014 by Eduardo Shimbori and Scott... Read more...

A parasitic wasp (47-51 in image composite), one of 24 new species of Aleiodes wasps discovered in Ecuador in 2014 by Eduardo Shimbori and Scott Shaw. Shimbori and Shaw named the species after Robert Frost, in reference to his poem "The Road Not Taken." While other Aleiodes wasps exit their hosts by cutting a round hole near the posterior end of a caterpillar, A. frosti escapes by cutting off the entire back end of the caterpillar.

An owl-biting louse discovered by biologist Dale H. Clayton in 1989, who named it after Gary Larson, dubbed by Natural History magazine the... Read more...

An owl-biting louse discovered by biologist Dale H. Clayton in 1989, who named it after Gary Larson, dubbed by Natural History magazine the "cartoonist laureate of the scientific community." Clayton contacted Larson asking to name the louse after him because of “the enormous contribution that my colleagues and I feel you have made to biology through your cartoons." Larson responded, "I considered this an extreme honor. Besides, I knew no one was going to write and ask to name a new species of swan after me. You have to grab these opportunities when they come along."

A genus of 19 species of ferns in the family Pteridaceae named after Lady Gaga. Two of the 19 species are newly-described—Gaga germanotta, after... Read more...

A genus of 19 species of ferns in the family Pteridaceae named after Lady Gaga. Two of the 19 species are newly-described—Gaga germanotta, after the singer's family name, and Gaga monstraparva in honor of Gaga's fans (she calls them "little monsters"). According to biologists, the ferns bear a distinct DNA sequence spelling "GAGA"--and they bear a close resemblance to Gaga's costume from the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards (2010).

Except for the two new species, the rest of the Gaga ferns were reclassified (having previously been assigned to the genus Cheilanthes) based on their appearance. Biologists at Duke University who named the genus say that they also chose the name because of Lady Gaga's active support of equality and individual expression.

A species of gall wasp named in 2004 after both Elvis Presley and one of his hit songs, "I'm All Shook Up." The species is known to attack oak... Read more...

A species of gall wasp named in 2004 after both Elvis Presley and one of his hit songs, "I'm All Shook Up." The species is known to attack oak trees or rose plants.

A dolichopodid fly named in 1996 to honor silent movie great Charlie Chaplin, "because of the curious tendency of this fly to die with its midlegs... Read more...

A dolichopodid fly named in 1996 to honor silent movie great Charlie Chaplin, "because of the curious tendency of this fly to die with its midlegs in a bandy-legged position" resembling Chaplin's famous bowlegged walk.

An extinct, deer-sized cross between a pig and a hippo, the Jagger’s water nymph lived 19 million years ago in Africa. Its discoverers at Wake... Read more...

An extinct, deer-sized cross between a pig and a hippo, the Jagger’s water nymph lived 19 million years ago in Africa. Its discoverers at Wake Forest University, North Carolina,named it after Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger in 2014 for its "prominent, grasping lips." Anthropologist Dr. Ellen Miller, who led the team, says some of her colleagues favored naming the creature after Angelina Jolie, "but for me it had to be Mick." Jagger is also the namesake of Aegrotocatellus jaggeri, a trilobite, and Anomphalus jaggerius, an extinct sea snail.

A pterosaur species from the Albian-age (early Cretaceous) Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation in Brazil, named c. 2006 after filmmaker Steven... Read more...

A pterosaur species from the Albian-age (early Cretaceous) Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation in Brazil, named c. 2006 after filmmaker Steven Spielberg for rather obvious reasons.

Scientists Quentin Wheeler and Kelly Miller named these species of beetle after former president George W. Bush, former vice president Dick Cheney,... Read more...

Scientists Quentin Wheeler and Kelly Miller named these species of beetle after former president George W. Bush, former vice president Dick Cheney, and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. "One has to be creative with names," Wheeler said in 2005. "We are two of the only politically conservative scientists around, and we decided to stick our necks out." The three beetles were among 65 newly discovered species that feed on mold.

Sri Lankan scientist and lead researcher Rohan Pethiyagoda said this new genus of fish, previously classified under Puntius (consisting of small... Read more...

Sri Lankan scientist and lead researcher Rohan Pethiyagoda said this new genus of fish, previously classified under Puntius (consisting of small tropical fish known as barbs) comprises nine species found only in South Asia. Dawkinsia are characterized by long filaments that trail from the dorsal fins of males. "Richard Dawkins has through his writings helped us understand that the universe is far more beautiful and awe-inspiring than any religion has imagined," Pethiyagoda said in 2012.

The Striolated Puffbird had two recognized subspecies: striolatus and torridus. In 2013, as a result of a taxonomic revision, B. M. Whitney et al.... Read more...

The Striolated Puffbird had two recognized subspecies: striolatus and torridus. In 2013, as a result of a taxonomic revision, B. M. Whitney et al. (2013) discovered a new and genetically distinct population in south-central Amazonia, which they named N. obamai, the Western Striolated Puffbird. The bird is native to Bolivia, western Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, in subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests.

Named by A. A. Girault, 1926, a chalcid wasp native to Australia.

Girault is also remembered for his tirades against the "new working woman,"... Read more...

Named by A. A. Girault, 1926, a chalcid wasp native to Australia.

Girault is also remembered for his tirades against the "new working woman," as in this 1924 passage: "Homo perniciosus was thus described and this condition is confirmed: Abnormal female (loveless, without offspring); heart functionless; mammae aborted; psychology novel (as supposed) but artificial . . . feral, brass-cheeked, shape lovely like Woman but nature hard (selfish, thoughtless, proud, unsympathetic, irresponsible, aggressive, irritant, insensible, luxurious, pugnacious, over-active . . . voracious and even carnivorous...); conduct unstable (even inclined to treachery), the lips compressed, body strong. Everywhere but rare in natural habitat." -- from The Art of Naming, Michael Ohl

This South African wasp species was named in 2012 by M.L. Buffington, after both H.P. Lovecraft and his creature Cthulhu, introduced to the world... Read more...

This South African wasp species was named in 2012 by M.L. Buffington, after both H.P. Lovecraft and his creature Cthulhu, introduced to the world in 1928.

Ophiohamus georgemartini is a brittle star of the deep South Pacific, so named by Dr. Tim O’Hara, a GOT fan, because of its likeness to the thorny... Read more...

Ophiohamus georgemartini is a brittle star of the deep South Pacific, so named by Dr. Tim O’Hara, a GOT fan, because of its likeness to the thorny crown found the cover of Book Two (Bantam Mass Market edition, 2012) in the Game of Thrones series A Clash of Kings.

This fungus-farming ant "is named after the English rock band Radiohead as an acknowledgement of their longstanding efforts in environmental... Read more...

This fungus-farming ant "is named after the English rock band Radiohead as an acknowledgement of their longstanding efforts in environmental activism, especially in raising climate-change awareness, and in honor of their music, which is an excellent companion during long hours at the microscope while conducting taxonomic revisions of ants." -- discoverers Ana Ješovnik and Ted R. Schultz, 2017

A team of American palaeontologists led by Prof. Scott Sampson, Utah University, named this "vicious lizard" (masiaka is the Malagasy word for... Read more...

A team of American palaeontologists led by Prof. Scott Sampson, Utah University, named this "vicious lizard" (masiaka is the Malagasy word for "vicious") after Mark Knopfler. "Whenever we listened to Knopfler's music, we found more bones of this dinosaur. Field palaeontology is largely serendipity and it almost became a running joke that Dire Straits music would bag us more fossils," said Sampson in 2001.

"I am happy to report I'm not in the least bit vicious," Knopfler announced upon hearing the news. "I am really delighted. It is a very special honour. The fact that it is a dinosaur is certainly apt."

This trapdoor spider was discovered by Dr. Jason Bond, who clearly went on a fantastic naming spree when he discovered 33 new species of trapdoor... Read more...

This trapdoor spider was discovered by Dr. Jason Bond, who clearly went on a fantastic naming spree when he discovered 33 new species of trapdoor spiders in 2012, bringing one genus from seven species to 40. He named it after U2's Bono, the creature having been discovered in Joshua Tree National Park.

This species of jellyfish in the family Phialellidae was named for Frank Zappa by Ferdinando Boero, a jellyfish expert and fan from Genova who... Read more...

This species of jellyfish in the family Phialellidae was named for Frank Zappa by Ferdinando Boero, a jellyfish expert and fan from Genova who wrote to the musician hoping to meet him. "There is nothing I would like better than having a jellyfish with my name", Zappa reportedly replied, leading to a meeting and eventually a friendly acquaintance between biologist and musician.

The Barack Obama trapdoor spider is a species in the family Euctenizidae, first reported by Prof. Jason Bond of Auburn University in 2012 as one of... Read more...

The Barack Obama trapdoor spider is a species in the family Euctenizidae, first reported by Prof. Jason Bond of Auburn University in 2012 as one of 33 new species of the genus Aptostichus.

Dr. Jason E. Bond, biology professor, offered to name a spider after Stephen Colbert during an appearance on The Colbert Report in 2008 after SC... Read more...

Dr. Jason E. Bond, biology professor, offered to name a spider after Stephen Colbert during an appearance on The Colbert Report in 2008 after SC complained that Neil Young already had one named for him.

Urs Thalmann named this lemur after Cleese, star of Monty Python, mainly because of Cleese's fondness for lemurs and his efforts at protecting and... Read more...

Urs Thalmann named this lemur after Cleese, star of Monty Python, mainly because of Cleese's fondness for lemurs and his efforts at protecting and preserving them--not because they resemble him.

Marine biologist Paul Sikkel says that naming the new parasite species after Bob Marley was done thoughtfully. He views it as “one professional... Read more...

Marine biologist Paul Sikkel says that naming the new parasite species after Bob Marley was done thoughtfully. He views it as “one professional (marine parasite ecologist) honoring another (Caribbean Reggae musician).”

According to discoverer Klaas-Douwe Dijkstra, “One of the greatest naturalists of all is not a scholar in the traditional sense, but a broadcaster.... Read more...

According to discoverer Klaas-Douwe Dijkstra, “One of the greatest naturalists of all is not a scholar in the traditional sense, but a broadcaster. To mark the 90th birthday on 8 May of documentary pioneer David Attenborough, I was given the honour of naming a new species of dragonfly — his favourite insect — for him.”