The Brad Pitt wasp, the Angelina Jolie spider and more: Celebrities with animal and plant species named after them | Gallery
10:06 am PDT, Jun 30, 2022
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Scientists are just like us – they love pop culture too! From Academy Award winners to royalty and former heads of state, join Wonderwall.com as we take a look at newly discovered species of animals and plants that scientists have named after some of the world’s most notable stars. First? Brad Pitt is insect inspiration! Corresponding Scientific Newsin 2016, an international group of scientists named a new species of parasitic wasp found in South Africa conoregma bradpitti after the Oscar winner.
Read on for more…
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According to CBS News, in 2013 Jason Bond of Auburn University in Alabama identified 33 new species of trapdoor spider and named one Aptostichus angelinajolieae after Angelina Jolie!
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Don’t Look Up star Leonardo DiCaprio has inspired several creature names. Four animal species are named after the Oscar winner: the beetles grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi and metallactus dicaprioi, and the spiders misumessus dicaprioi and spintharus leonardodicaprioi.
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What creature was named after Kate Winslet? According to The Guardian, entomologist Terry Erwin named a ground beetle species found in Costa Rica in 2002 after the ‘Mare of Easttown’ actress: the Agra Katewinsletae.
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In 2022, the New York Post revealed that a centipede found in the Appalachian Mountains was named nannaria swiftae, after none other than Taylor Swift! “Her music helped me get through the ups and downs of grad school, so naming a new centipede species after her is my way of saying thank you,” Virginia Tech entomologist Derek Hennen said in a statement.
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In 2012, researchers from CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia, named a previously unnamed species of horsefly Scaptia (plinthina) beyonceae after Queen Bey, according to Live Science. your reason for this? The insect is considered the “all-time diva of flies”.
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After seeing the green Armani Privé look Lady Gaga wore during her performance at the 2010 Grammy Awards, scientists at Duke University in North Carolina were inspired to name 19 species of ferns – giving rise to the genus Gaga – in her honor Due to LGBTQ rights, the lawyer’s costume resembled a gametophyte, the bisexual reproductive stage of a fern. Two of the 19 species are new to science: Gaga germanottawho hails from Costa Rica, is named in honor of the singer and actress’ family (Gaga was born Stefani Germanotta) and Gaga monstraparva, a Mexican species, means “little monsters” in honor of Gaga’s devoted fanbase. “We wanted to name this genus after Lady Gaga because she is a passionate advocate for equality and individual expression,” said Kathleen Pryer, professor of biology at Duke University and director of the Duke Herbarium Duke today.
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It seems fitting that a former Spider-Man actor named a species of spider after him! As reported by ScreenRant, arachnologists Yuri M. Marusik and Alireza Zamani named an eight-legged species found in Iran in 2015 Pritha garfieldi after Oscar-nominated actor Andrew Garfield, who portrayed Peter Parker in the films The Amazing Spider-Man .
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In 2015, the same arachnologists who named a species of spider after Andrew Garfield – Yuri M. Marusik and Alireza Zamani – named one after the other “Spider-Man” actor: Tobey Maguire. The Filistata maguirei was discovered in Iran.
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In 2014, a research team in Puerto Rico discovered a new species of aquatic mite, which they named Litarachna lopezae, after Jennifer Lopez, according to Entomology Today. Why did they go by that name? Because “J.Lo’s songs and videos kept the team in a consistently good mood while working,” lead author Vladimir Pešić of the University of Montenegro told the publication.
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In 2022, scientists at the University of California, Riverside named a new species of nematode Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi after actor Jeff Daniels, People Magazine reported. The name was taken from his character Dr. Inspired by Ross Jennings from ‘Arachnophobia’ from the 1990s.
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According to Live Science, Moises Kaplan of the University of Michigan identified a new species of Colombian tree frog, which he named after music star Sting. The amphibian now known as Hyla stingi was named to honor the “Every Breath You Take” singer’s work in protecting the rainforest.
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Jason Bond, a scientist at Auburn University in Alabama who named a type of trapdoor spider after Angelina Jolie, did the same for U2 frontman Bono! The species he discovered in California’s Joshua Tree National Park took the name A. bonoi. (This decision may have something to do with U2’s 1987 album being titled The Joshua Tree.)
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After Kerry Knudsen — a lichen curator at the University of California, Riverside’s UCR Herbarium — discovered a new species of lichen, a plant-like growth, in 2007, he decided to name it after President Barack Obama. “I named it Caloplaca obamae to show my appreciation for the President’s support for science education,” Kerry told Phys.org of the discovery, which was published in the March 2008 issue of Opuscula Philolichenum. “I was completing the final collections of C. obamae during the exciting final weeks of President Obama’s campaign for the presidency of the United States, and this paper was written amid the international jubilation of his election… In fact, this final draft was completed the same day.” inauguration of President Obama.”
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According to Reptiles Magazine, a tree frog species discovered in 2008 by Dr. Luis A. Coloma in Ecuador, named after British Prince Charles Hyloscritus princecharlesi to honor his dedication to protecting the rainforests.
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Shakira’s hips don’t lie — and apparently these scientists remembered it! In 2014, Yahoo News reported that a new species of parasitic wasp — discovered by Dr. Eduardo Shimbori and Dr. Scott Shaw in the eastern Andes of Ecuador – Aleiodes shakirae because the wasp’s sting causes the host caterpillars to wobble and move, reminding them of Shakira’s dance moves.
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Why have only one species named after you when you could have five? The Late Show host Stephen Colbert is honored by five creatures: the beetle Sonoma colberti, the diving beetle Agaporomorphus colberti, the spider Aptostichus stephencolberti, the stonefly Diamphipnoa colberti and the parasitic wasp Aleiodes colberti.
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