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 or groups. It does not include organisms named for fictional entities, for biologists or other scientists, nor for associates or family members of researchers who are not otherwise notable.

Attenborosaurus, a plesiosaur named after Attenborough Nepenthes attenboroughii, a pitcher plant named after Attenborough E. gatesi commemorates Bill Gates Diplodocus carnegii, a dinosaur named after Carnegie
  • Ablerus longfellowi – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  • Acanthosquilla sirindhorn – Sirindhorn
  • Aegrotocatellus jaggeri – Mick Jagger
  • Aeschylia – Aeschylus
  • Aesopichthys – Aesop
  • Agaporomorphus colberti – Stephen Colbert
  • Agathidium bushi – George W. Bush
  • Agathidium cheneyi – Dick Cheney
  • Agathidium cortezi – Hernan Cortez
  • Agathidium rumsfeldi – Donald Rumsfeld
  • Agra catbellae – Catherine Bell
  • Agra katewinsletae – Kate Winslet
  • Agra liv – Liv Tyler
  • 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."
  • Albunea groeningi – Matt Groening
  • Aligheria – Dante Alighieri
  • Aligherinia – Dante Alighieri
  • Allendia – Salvador Allende
  • Amaurotoma zappa – Frank Zappa
  • Amphinema rollinsi – Henry Rollins
  • Anacroneuria carole – Carole King
  • Anacroneuria taylori – James Taylor
  • Anatoma tobeyoides – Mark Tobey
  • Anelosimus nelsoni – Nelson Mandela
  • Angeliconana – Fra Angelico
  • Anhanguera spielbergi – Steven Spielberg
  • Anillinus docwatsoni – Doc Watson
  • Anomphalus jaggerius – Mick Jagger
  • Anophthalmus hitleri – Adolf Hitler
  • Anselmella – Anselm of Canterbury
  • Anthemiella – Anthemius of Tralles
  • Apistogramma mendezi – Chico Mendes
  • Aptostichus angelinajolieae – Angelina Jolie
  • Aptostichus stephencolberti – Stephen Colbert
  • Arcticalymene cooki – Paul Cook
  • Arcticalymene jonesi – Steve Jones
  • Arcticalymene matlocki – Glen Matlock
  • Arcticalymene rotteni – Johnny Rotten
  • Arcticalymene viciousi – Sid Vicious
  • Arsinoitherium – Arsinoe II
  • Arthurdactylus conandoylei – Arthur Conan Doyle. Found in jungle similar to where The Lost World was set.
  • 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
  • Bachiana – Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Baeturia hardyi – Oliver Hardy
  • Baeturia laureli – Stan Laurel
  • Bagheera kiplingi – Rudyard Kipling. The genus name is derived from Bagheera, the black panther from Kipling's Jungle Book
  • Balboa – Vasco Núñez de Balboa
  • Baru darrowi – Paul Darrow
  • Bauhinia sirindhorniae – Sirindhorn
  • Beethovena – Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Bishopina mozarti – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Blighia – William Bligh
  • Borrowella – George Borrow
  • Boudiennyia – Semion Boudienny
  • Brachypanorpa sacajawea – Sacajawea
  • Bufonaria borisbeckeri – Boris Becker
  • Buddhaites – Buddha
  • Buonapartea – Napoleon
  • Bushiella beatlesi – The Beatles
  • Caligula – Caligula
  • Caloplaca obamae – Barack Obama
  • Calponia harrisonfordi – Harrison Ford
  • Campsicnemus charliechaplini – Charlie Chaplin. This fly dies with its midlegs in a bandy-legged position.
  • Captaincookia – James Cook
  • Carlyleia – Thomas Carlyle
  • Carmenelectra - Carmen Electra
  • Cedrorestes crichtoni – Michael Crichton
  • Cervus canadensis roosevelti – Theodore Roosevelt
  • Cheguevaria – Che Guevara
  • Chesapecten jeffersonius – Thomas Jefferson
  • Cirolana mercuryi – Freddie Mercury. East African isopod named for "arguably Zanzibar's most famous popular musician and singer."
  • Claudius – Claudius
  • Cleopatrodon – Cleopatra VII
  • Confucius – Confucius
  • Confuciusornis sanctus – Confucius. Feathered dinosaur – "holy Confucius' bird".
  • Cowperia – William Cowper
  • Crichtonsaurus – Michael Crichton
  • Crikey steveirwini – Steve Irwin
  • Crocidura attila – Attila
  • Crocidura roosevelti – Theodore Roosevelt
  • Cryptocercus garciai – Jerry Garcia
  • Ctenocheloides attenboroughi – David Attenborough.
  • Cuspicephalus scarfi – Gerald Scarfe
  • Cyclocephala casanova – Casanova
  • Cyclocephala freudi – Sigmund Freud
  • Cyclocephala rorschachoides – Hermann Rorschach
  • Dawkinsia – Richard Dawkins
  • 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.
  • Dasykaluta rosamondae – Rosamund Clifford
  • Dasyurus spartacus – Spartacus
  • Davincia – Leonardo da Vinci
  • Depressizona exorum – The Ex
  • Descampsia – Jean-Baptiste Descamps
  • Descampsina – Jean-Baptiste Descamps
  • Diamphipnoa colberti – Stephen Colbert
  • Dicrotendipes thanatogratus – Grateful Dead
  • Diplodocus carnegii – Andrew Carnegie. A species of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Jurassic period.
  • Draculoides bramstokeri – Bram Stoker
  • Effigia okeeffeae – Georgia O'Keeffe
  • Elijahia – Elijah
  • Elysia manriquei – César Manrique
  • Emersonella – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Emersonia – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Emersonopsis – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Equus grevyi – Jules Grévy
  • Eristalis alleni – Paul Allen
  • Eristalis gatesi – Bill Gates
  • Euglossa bazinga - fictional character Sheldon Cooper
  • Euphorbia regis-jubae – Juba II
  • Evita – Eva Perón
  • Fernandocrambus chopinellus – Frédéric Chopin
  • Finlayia – George Finlay
  • Franklinia – Benjamin Franklin
  • Froudeana – James Anthony Froude
  • Funkotriplogynium iagobadius – James Brown. Iago is "James" and badius is "brown" in Latin.
  • Gabrius tolkieni – J. R. R. Tolkien
  • Gaga – Lady Gaga
  • Gazella bilkis – Queen of Sheba
  • Gentiana – Gentius
  • Gnathia beethoveni – Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Gnathia marleyi – Bob Marley
  • Godiva – Godiva
  • Goetheana – Johann Goethe
  • Goetheana shakespearei – Johann Goethe and William Shakespeare
  • Goethella – Johann Goethe
  • Gounodia – Charles Gounod
  • Goya – Francisco Goya
  • Greeffiella beatlei – The Beatles
  • Grimaldichthys profondissimus – Albert I, Prince of Monaco
  • Grimalditeuthis bonplandi – Albert I, Prince of Monaco
  • Grotiusella – Hugo Grotius
  • Grotiusomyia – Hugo Grotius
  • Hannibalia – Hannibal
  • Harpagus – Harpagus
  • Herodotia – Herodotus
  • Hydroscapha redfordi – Robert Redford
  • Hyla stingi – Sting. Colombian tree frog named in recognition of his work for the rain forest.
  • Ibyka – Ibycus
  • Idiomacromerus longfellowi – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  • Jeffersonia – Thomas Jefferson
  • Jenghizkhan – Genghis Khan
  • Jubaea – Juba II
  • Keatsia – John Keats
  • Kerygmachela kierkegaardi – Søren Kierkegaard
  • Khruschevia ridicula – Nikita Khruschev
  • Lamennaisia – Hugues Felicité Robert de Lamennais
  • Legionella shakespearei – William Shakespeare
  • Leonardo davincii – Leonardo da Vinci
  • Lepidoteuthis grimaldii – Albert I, Prince of Monaco
  • Lepithrix freudi – Sigmund Freud
  • Leucothoe tolkieni – J. R. R. Tolkien
  • Lincolna – Abraham Lincoln
  • Lincolnanna – Abraham Lincoln
  • Livyatan melvillei – Herman Melville
  • Loureedia annulipes - Lou Reed
  • Loxosomatoides sirindhornae – Sirindhorn
  • Lutheria – Martin Luther
  • Mackenziurus johnnyi – Johnny Ramone
  • Mackenziurus joeyi – Joey Ramone
  • Mackenziurus deedeei – Dee Dee Ramone
  • Mackenziurus ceejayi – C. J. Ramone
  • Macrobrachium sirindhorn – Sirindhorn
  • Macrocarpaea dies-viridis – Green Day
  • Magellanana – Ferdinand Magellan
  • Magnolia sirindhorniae – Sirindhorn
  • Mammuthus jeffersonii – Thomas Jefferson
  • Mandelia – Nelson Mandela
  • Maotherium – Mao Zedong
  • Martesia tolkieni – J. R. R. Tolkien
  • Masiakasaurus knopfleri – Mark Knopfler
  • Mastophora dizzydeani – Dizzy Dean. The spider uses a sticky ball on the end of a thread to catch its prey.
  • Marxella – Karl Marx
  • Marxiana – Karl Marx
  • Materpiscis attenboroughi – David Attenborough
  • Maxillaria gorbatchowii – Mikhail Gorbachev
  • Megalonyx jeffersonii – Thomas Jefferson
  • Mesoparapylocheles michaeljacksoni – Michael Jackson
  • Microchilo elgrecoi – El Greco
  • Microchilo murilloi – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
  • Milesdavis – Miles Davis
  • Mirina confucius – Confucius
  • Mitra kamehameha – King Kamehameha I
  • Montypythonoides riversleighensis – An extinct snake, named for the comedy group Monty Python's Flying Circus, since renamed Morelia riversleighensis
  • Mozartella beethoveni – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi – Neil Young
  • Nabokovia – Vladimir Nabokov
  • Nanocthulhu lovecrafti – H. P. Lovecraft
  • Napoleonaea imperialis – Napoleon
  • Neanthes roosevelti – Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • Neomegamphopus roosevelti – Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • Neoperla teresa – Teresa Heinz
  • Nepenthes attenboroughii and Blakea attenboroughii (plants) – David Attenborough
  • Norasaphus monroeae – Marilyn Monroe. Trilobite with an hourglass shaped glabella.
  • Obamadon gracilis - Barack Obama
  • Orectochilus orbisonorum – Roy Orbison and his widow Barbara Orbison. Whirligig beetle from India.
  • Ornithoptera alexandrae – Alexandra of Denmark
  • Orontobia dalailama – Dalai Lama. Tiger moth from Tibet.
  • Orsonwelles – Orson Welles
  • Ovidia – Ovid
  • 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 (in allusion to Abbott and Costello – however the species was named abbotti honoring William Louis Abbott)
  • Paradonea presleyi - Elvis Presley
  • Parides montezuma – Moctezuma II
  • Paroxyna cleopatra – Cleopatra VII
  • Paroxyna messalina – Valeria Messalina
  • Perirehaedulus richardsi – Keith Richards
  • Petrochirus diogenes – Diogenes of Sinope
  • Petula (tineid moth) – Petula Clark
  • Pheidole harrisonfordi – Harrison Ford
  • Pheidole roosevelti – Theodore Roosevelt
  • 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.
  • Phricotelphusa sirindhorn – Sirindhorn
  • Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae – Sirindhorn
  • Pinus montezumae – Moctezuma II
  • Plato – Plato
  • Plutarchia – Plutarch
  • Poanes hobomok – Hobomok
  • Podocyrtis goetheana – Johann Goethe
  • Potanthus confucius – Confucius
  • Prethopalpus attenboroughi – David Attenborough
  • 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.
  • Pseudocorinna brianeno – Brian Eno
  • Pseudoparamys cezannei – Paul Cézanne
  • Pundamilia nyererei – Julius Nyerere
  • Pycnomma roosevelti – Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • Rooseveltia frankliniana – Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • Qiliania graffini – Greg Graffin
  • Raffaellia – Raphael
  • Raphaelana – Raphael
  • Raphaelonia – Raphael
  • Renaniana – Ernest Renan
  • Richteria – Jean Richter
  • Rochlingia hitleri – Adolf Hitler
  • Rostropria garbo – Greta Garbo. Diapriid wasp described as "a solitary female".
  • Rotaovula hirohitoi – Hirohito
  • Salinoctomys loschalchalerosorum – Los Chalchaleros
  • Sappho – Sappho
  • Scaptia beyonceae – Beyoncé Knowles. The horse fly was named after the singer and actress because of its striking golden behind.
  • Schilleria – Friedrich Schiller
  • Scipionyx – Scipio Africanus
  • Sequoia – Sequoyah
  • Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei – Arthur C. Clarke
  • Serratoterga garylarsoni – Gary Larson
  • Shakespearia – William Shakespeare
  • Sinatra – Frank Sinatra
  • Siriella roosevelti – Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sirindhorn thailandiensis – Sirindhorn
  • Sirindhornia – Sirindhorn
  • Spartacus – Spartacus
  • Stasimopus mandelai – Nelson Mandela
  • Stenomorpha roosevelti – Theodore Roosevelt
  • Strelitzia reginae – Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
  • Streptocephalus sirindhornae – Sirindhorn
  • Strigiphilus garylarsoni – Gary Larson
  • Struszia mccartneyi – Paul McCartney
  • Sylvilagus palustris hefneri – Hugh Hefner (Sylvilagus is a genus of rabbit).
  • Taeniopteryx mercuryi – Freddie Mercury
  • Tarsius sirindhornae – Sirindhorn
  • Tassonia – Alessandro Tassoni
  • Tecunumania – Tecún Umán
  • Tennysoniana – Alfred, Lord Tennyson
  • Thalesanna – Thales
  • Thoreauella – Henry David Thoreau
  • Thoreauia – Henry David Thoreau
  • Thysania agrippina – Julia the Younger
  • Tianchisaurus nedegoapeferima – Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, Ariana Richards, and Joseph Mazzello.
  • Trypanosoma irwini – Steve Irwin
  • Trigona sirindhornae – Sirindhorn
  • Vallaris zappai – Frank Zappa
  • Victoria regina – Queen Victoria
  • Washingtonia – George Washington
  • Whittieria – John Greenleaf Whittier
  • Xanthosomnium froesei – Edgar Froese. "Xanthosomnium" is a translation of Tangerine Dream.
  • Xenopsylla cheopsis – Khufu
  • Zaglossus attenboroughi – David Attenborough
  • Zamenhofella – L. L. Zamenhof
  • Zappa – Frank Zappa. Ed Murdy, who renamed the genus, says, "I like his music."

Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, organisms, named, famous and/or people:

    My list of things I never pictured myself saying when I pictured myself as a parent has grown over the years.
    Polly Berrien Berends (20th century)

    Hey, you dress up our town very nicely. You don’t look out the Chamber of Commerce is going to list you in their publicity with the local attractions.
    Robert M. Fresco, and Jack Arnold. Dr. Matt Hastings (John Agar)

    The white man regards the universe as a gigantic machine hurtling through time and space to its final destruction: individuals in it are but tiny organisms with private lives that lead to private deaths: personal power, success and fame are the absolute measures of values, the things to live for. This outlook on life divides the universe into a host of individual little entities which cannot help being in constant conflict thereby hastening the approach of the hour of their final destruction.
    Policy statement, 1944, of the Youth League of the African National Congress. pt. 2, ch. 4, Fatima Meer, Higher than Hope (1988)

    We call it a Society; and go about professing openly the totalest separation, isolation. Our life is not a mutual helpfulness; but rather, cloaked under due laws-of-war, named “fair competition” and so forth, it is a mutual hostility.
    Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881)

    From time immemorial the men of the town have been famous seamen, and have divided their energies between fishing and hating the English.
    Willa Cather (1876–1947)

    Sometimes people call me an idealist. Well, that is the way I know I am an American.... America is the only idealistic nation in the world.
    Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)