18 Famous People Who Actually Have An Entire Species Named After Them

    From the Shakira parasite to the Daft Punk flatworm.

    Audrey Engvalson
    by Audrey Engvalson

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. There's a parasite named after Shakira that makes its host shake its hips vigorously.

    Eduardo Mitio Shimbori / Scott Richard Shaw / Via pensoft.net

    Aleiodes shakirae makes its host (usually a caterpillar) twist and contort its abdomen. Scientists decided to name it after Shakira and her truth-telling hips.

    2. There's a "bootylicious" horse fly named after Beyoncé.

    Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

    Scaptia beyonceae is a horse fly that is solid black with the exception of a gold butt. The fly's unique bum made researchers think of the Destiny's Child hit "Bootylicious."

    3. Bono has a spider named after him and a famous U2 album.

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    Aptostichus bonoi is native to Joshua Tree National Park and is named after the U2 frontman and their 1987 album The Joshua Tree.

    4. A scientist and Brad Pitt fan named a wasp after him when it was discovered.

    Jason Kempin

    The scientist who discovered Conobregma bradpitti was a huge fan of the actor and even had a poster of him on the wall of her laboratory.

    5. There's a marine spider that gets its name after Bob Marley and one of his famous songs.

    Hulton Archive / Getty Images

    Desis bobmarleyi gets its name from Bob Marley's song "High Tide or Low Tide" because it lives in a high tide/low tide habitat.

    6. Gaga ferns are an entire genus of ferns named after Lady Gaga.

    Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

    There are 19 species under this genus including Gaga germanotta, to honor the artist's last name, and Gaga monstraparva, which translates to "little monsters." Its DNA sequence also spells out GAGA.

    7. Four different species of damselfly are named after the members of Queen.

    Keystone / Getty Images

    The 40th anniversary of the band and the discovery of these species must've coincided. These species are called Heteragrion freddiemercuryi, H. brianmayi, H. rogertaylori, and H. johndeaconi.

    8. Elton John has a species of crustacean named after his character in Tommy.

    Lee International Studios

    Leucothoe eltoni has an appendage that's reminiscent of the boots that Elton John wore in Tommy.

    9. Maguimithrax is an entire genus of crab named after Tobey Maguire.

    Columbia Pictures

    He played Spider-Man and it's a genus of spider crab so it makes sense. Andrew Garfield also has an animal named after him because of his stint as Spider-Man.

    10. There's a wasp named after Metallica because its behavior reminded researchers of a specific album.

    Jason Kempin / Getty Images

    The first part of the name Metallichneumon neurospastarchus pays homage to the band. Because it's a parasitic wasp, the second part of the name refers to the album "Master of the Puppets." "Neurospastarcus" is "ruler of the puppets" in Greek and references the lifeless and brain-dead nature of the wasp's hosts.

    11. Radiohead got an ant named after them because of their conservation efforts (and good music).

    Rich Fury

    The ant, Sericomyrmex radioheadi, was named after Radiohead due to their conservation efforts and because the band "is an excellent companion during long hours at the microscope while conducting taxonomic revision of ants."

    12. There's a genus of spider so unique and complex that it was named after Pink Floyd.

    Keystone Features / Getty Images

    The genus, Pinkfloydia, has very unique and strange morphological features, and the scientists who discovered the genus thought that Pinkfloydia's interesting characteristics matched the band's style.

    13. Stephen Colbert wanted something cool named after him, and now he's name-twins with a diving beetle.

    Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

    Colbert asked in 2008 that he get something cooler than a spider named after him, preferably a "giant ant or laser lion." ASU did the next best thing and named this species of beetle, Agaporomorphus colberti, after the comedian. They also gifted Colbert a print of his beetle for his 45th birthday.

    14. There's a species of beetle that's leg muscles are so big, it was named after Arnold Schwarzenegger.

    Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images

    The middle femora in the male Agra schwarzeneggeri look very muscle-y, just like the actor.

    15. There's a fly named after Charlie Chaplin because of its position when it dies.

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    Campsicnemus charliechaplini gets its name because, when it dies, it gets bandy legs very similar to the way the actor stood.

    16. The author of Jaws has his own shark named after him.

    Darren Mccollester / Getty Images

    Etmopterus benchleyi, or ninja lanternshark, was named after Benchley not only because of Jaws but also because Benchley worked as a marine conservationist.

    17. There's a species of lichen named after Dolly Parton because they share a hometown.

    Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images

    The Japewiella dollypartoniana lichen grows in the Tennessee mountains, the same place that Dolly grew up in.

    18. And Daft Punk has a flatworm named after them because the flatworm's penis resembles Daft Punk's helmets.

    Kevin Winter / Getty Images

    The Baicalellia daftpunka flatworms have "helmet‐shaped male copulatory stylets" that look like the helmets worn by the famous musicians.