12 Organisms That Have No Idea They’re Named After Celebrities

A flatworm... how flattering
12 Organisms That Have No Idea They’re Named After Celebrities

If youre a biologist, you may be lucky enough to have the chance to name a brand new organism. If youre a fan of a certain celebrity, that can also be your chance to give a nod to someone that inspires or entertains you. If youre studying something like worms, it might not feel the most complimentary, but I think the sentiment still stands.

Here are 12 organisms that have no idea they bear a celebrity name…

Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi

Henrik Freitag, Clister V. Pangantihon, Iva Njunjic

Right off the bat, if youre expecting all these species to be visual nods to their namesakes, youre going to be disappointed. Like in the case of Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi, which was given the moniker to thank the actor for his environmental philanthropic work. Its a water beetle, at least, so put that thing on a floating door and youve got a connection — and probably a good meme for approximately five biologists.

Apostichus angelinajolieae

Jason E. Bond

I have no quote to base this on, but I weirdly do think that Angelina Jolie is probably one of the few actresses that would truly be flattered by a namesake spider. Were talking about someone who wore a vial of her lovers blood around her neck, after all.

Albunea groeningi

Christopher B. Boyko

Simpsons creator Matt Groening apparently earned himself his very own species of crab thanks to featuring crustaceans in the show. Specifically, Lisa’s hermit crab and Pinchy the lobster secured his shellfish legacy.

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