Some Animal Species Got Named After Famous People

Imagine having a rabbit or a slimy insect named after you, or even a dinosaur? Every year scientists discover new animal species, and they all need a new name. These are just some of the pictures of the famous people and the animal species named after them.

Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit is an endangered subspecies of Marsh Rabbit named after Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

Back in the days it was normal to name the new species after the founders of the expeditions, but the recent years several famous people have gotten some sort of animal specie named after them because of their honorable work.

Pheidole harrisonfordi is a species of ant named after the actor Harrison Ford in honor of his work in conservation.

Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi is a species of trapdoor spider, described in 2007 by East Carolina University. It is named after Canadian rock musician Neil Young.

Masiakasaurus was a small predatory dinosaur from Madagascar and was named after the musician Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits fame, “whose music inspired expedition crews”.

Cirolana mercuryi is a species of isopod found on coral reefs off Bawe Island, (Zanzibar, Tanzania) in East Africa and named for Freddie Mercury, “arguably Zanzibar’s most famous popular musician and singer”.

Bill Gates’ flower fly (Eristalis gatesi) is a flower fly found only in Costa Rican high mountain cloud forests and named after Bill Gates.

Albunea groeningi is a species of sand crab named after Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons.

Agathidium vaderi is a genus of beetles names after Star Wars character Darth Vader.

Baeturia hardyi (de Boer, 1996) is a species of cicada named comedian Oliver Hardy. A similar species, B. laureli, was named after his partner Stan Laure.

The Bemaraha Woolly Lemur (Avahi cleesei), also known as Cleese’s Woolly Lemur, is a species of woolly lemur native to western Madagascar, named after actor John Cleese.

Aegrotocatellus jaggeri (Adrain & Edgecombe, 1995) is a species of trilobite named after British musician Mick Jagger.

Stasimopus mandelai is a species of ctenizid trapdoor spider from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The species was named in 2004 by zoologists Brent E Hendrixson and Jason E Bond “honoring Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa and one of the great moral leaders of our time.

Bishopina mozarti is a species of ostracod named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart a prolific and influential composer of the classical era.

Bufonaria borisbeckeri is a species of medium-large sea snail, the “frog snails”. The species is named after the famous German tennis player, Boris Becker.