Sometimes new species get their names from geography, a beloved grandmother, or even the length of an animal’s tail. But some famous people clearly won the hearts of taxonomists: their names show up not just once but attached to several newly described organisms. Here are six of the most notable examples, as listed by Popular Science.
Stephen Colbert
Comedian and TV host Stephen Colbert has inspired several creature-based name tributes: the parasitic wasp Aleiodes colberti, the trapdoor spider Aptostichus stephencolberti, and the diving beetle Agaporomorphus colberti.
“Last year Stephen shamelessly asked the scientific community to name something cooler than a spider after him,” entomologist Quentin Wheeler of Arizona State University said in a 2009 statement. “His top picks were a giant ant or a laser lion. While those would be amazing, our work is on beetles, and they’re ‘way cooler’ than a spider any day.”
Queen Victoria
The British monarch didn’t just lend her name to individual species — an entire genus of giant water lilies, Victoria, honors her. She also appears in species names like the Victoria crowned pigeon Goura victoria and the tropical birdwing butterfly Ornithoptera victoriae (Queen Victoria’s birdwing).
Leonardo DiCaprio
The American actor has inspired a few species names: the Cameroonian tree Uvariopsis dicaprio, the diving beetle Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi, and the frog Phyllonastes dicaprioi.
Harrison Ford
In 2023 a newly described snake was named Tachymenoides harrisonfordi after Harrison Ford — in part because of his environmental work. His name has also been used for a spider and for the ant Pheidole harrisonfordi.
“These scientists keep naming creatures after me, but it’s always the ones that scare children. I don’t get it. In my free time I do cross-stitch. I sing lullabies to my plants so they won’t be afraid of the dark,” Ford joked in a statement. “Seriously, this discovery (the case of Tachymenoides harrisonfordi) is very striking. It reminds us how much there still is to learn about our wildlife — and that humans are only a small part of an enormous biosphere.”
Barack Obama
The former president even has a dedicated Wikipedia page listing things named after him, including numerous organisms. Examples include a bee, the spider Spintharus barackobamai (in the same genus as Spintharus berniesandersi), and the diving beetle Desmopachria barackobamai. There’s also a rare fossil lizard, Obamadon gracilis.
David Attenborough
More than 50 species have been named for broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough. Those include a bird, the carnivorous plant Nepenthes attenboroughii, and the Bolivian lichen Malmidea attenboroughii. Many people joke that a few more species should be named after his voice.
