List of organisms named after famous people

In biological nomenclature, organisms often receive scientific names that honor a person.

This page is a list of organisms named after famous people. It does not include organisms named for biologists or other scientists, nor for associates or family members of researchers who are not otherwise notable.

• 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
• Anhanguera spielbergi – Steven Spielberg
• Anomphalus jaggerius – Mick Jagger
• Anophthalmus hitleri – Adolf Hitler^[6]
• Aptostichus angelinajolieae – Angelina Jolie
• Aptostichus stephencolberti – Stephen Colbert
• Arcticalymene cooki – Paul Cook^[1]
• Arcticalymene jonesi – Steve Jones^[1]
• Arcticalymene matlocki – Glen Matlock^[1]
• Arcticalymene rotteni – Johnny Rotten^[1]
• Arcticalymene viciousi – Sid Vicious^[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]
• Bagheera kiplingi – Rudyard Kipling. The genus name is derived from Bagheera, the black panther from Kipling's Jungle Book
• Baru darrowi – Paul Darrow
• Beethovena – Ludwig van Beethoven^[1]
• Bishopina mozarti (a synonym of Neocyprideis timorensis) – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart^[1]
• Bufonaria borisbeckeri – Boris Becker^[1]
• Buddhaites – Buddha
• Caloplaca obamae – Barack Obama
• 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
• 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]
• Kepimahalfa kriziwidgata - Krizia I. Bautista
• Kerygmachela kierkegaardi – Søren Kierkegaard
• Legionella shakespearei – William Shakespeare^[1]
• Linnaea – Carl Linnaeus
• Lutheria – Martin Luther
• Mackenziurus johnnyi – Johnny Ramone^[1]
• Mackenziurus joeyi – Joey Ramone^[1]
• Mackenziurus deedeei – Dee Dee Ramone^[1]
• Mackenziurus ceejayi – C. J. Ramone^[1]
• Masiakasaurus knopfleri – Mark Knopfler^[1]
• 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]
• Montypythonoides riversleighensis - An extinct snake, named for the comedy group Monty Python's Flying Circus, since renamed Morelia riversleighensis^[8]
• Mozartella beethoveni – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven^[1]
• Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi – Neil Young
• Nepenthes attenboroughii and Blakea attenboroughii (plants) – David Attenborough (again)
• 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^{[1][Note 1]} (in allusion to Abbott and Costello - however the species was named abbotti honoring William Louis Abbott)
• Perirehaedulus richardsi – Keith Richards
• Petrochirus diogenes – Diogenes of Sinope^[1]
• Petula (tineid genus) – Petula Clark^[1]
• Phanaeus changdiazi^[9] – 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]
• Pseudocorinna brianeno – Brian Eno^[10]
• Pseudoparamys cezannei – Paul Cézanne^[1]
• Qiliania graffini – Greg Graffin^[11]
• 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]
• Spongiforma squarepantsii – SpongeBob SquarePants^[12]
• 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.
• Vallaris zappai – Frank Zappa^[13]
• Zaglossus attenboroughi – David Attenborough (again)
• Zappa – Frank Zappa. Ed Murdy, who renamed the genus, says, "I like his music."^[1][14]

See also

• List of bacterial genera named after personal names

Notes

References