Trend Of Naming Species After Celebrities

[Elisa]

Does anyone think this is odd? A newly found water mite was just named after Jennifer Lopez and after some reading I have realized this isn't the first time. Bob Marley, Mick Jagger and Bono all have creatures named after them. What's up with that?

[Turtle]

A trend is what's up, just as you say. Naming rights often go to the discoverer so it appears there is a current trend for discoverers to give a tip-o-the-hat to some favored celebrity.

[PiSquare]

My first though when I read about the water mite being named after J-Lo was that the mite probably has a firm, prominent and cute behind. 

 

On a more serious note, I can understand why a newly discovered wasp was named after Harry Potter 'dementors'. Maybe  the celebrity-named species display some characteristics of these famous people, or maybe the celebs simply have enough money to buy themselves a 'species legacy' to leave behind.

[CraigD]

Naming species for celebrities is odd, but not new.

 

The tradition in biological taxonomy has long been that the discoverer of a species could name it whatever they like. Descriptive names, usually in Latin, are most popular, though variation of their own names, family, and friends are sometimes chosen. Mythological and historic figures are popular, as are celebrities. William Shakespeare, Queen Victoria, the poets Longfellow and Emerson, and Adolph Hitler are examples of pre-1950 celebrities with species named after them.

 

From lists such as Wikipedia’s List of organisms named after famous people, it appear to me there are more celebrities with species named after them born after 1950 than before. I suspect this is because there have been many times more species discovered and named since 1990 than before, and there are many more well-know actors, musicians, and other celebrities now than in the past.

 

Some species have been named after corporations (the monkey Callicebus aureipalatii, named for the GoldenPalace online casino) that paid their discoverer for the honor.

 

By various estimates, about 2,000,000 know/named species, and 20,000,000 to 100,000,000 living species. Continuing to come up with catchy names for them as they’re discovered will likely be increasingly difficult.

[bleeryI]

Well, they have to be named after someone I suppose, so why not celebrities? If I were J-Lo I'm not sure that I'd relish the thought of a mite with my name, although, as a non-celebrity, I'd probably be a wee bit proud if a bug carried my name into posterity.

[CraigD]

Species have also been named after fictional characters, including Japanese movie monsters Godzilla, Mothra, and Gamera.

 

Here and here are some lists. They’re apparently too old to include the recently names Tritonia khaleesi sea slug, named for current “Game of Thrones” TV series character Khaleesi Daenerys Targaryen.

[Celestia]

Naming species for celebrities is odd, but not new.

 

The tradition in biological taxonomy has long been that the discoverer of a species could name it whatever they like. Descriptive names, usually in Latin, are most popular, though variation of their own names, family, and friends are sometimes chosen. Mythological and historic figures are popular, as are celebrities. William Shakespeare, Queen Victoria, the poets Longfellow and Emerson, and Adolph Hitler are examples of pre-1950 celebrities with species named after them.

 

From lists such as Wikipedia’s List of organisms named after famous people, it appear to me there are more celebrities with species named after them born after 1950 than before. I suspect this is because there have been many times more species discovered and named since 1990 than before, and there are many more well-know actors, musicians, and other celebrities now than in the past.

 

Some species have been named after corporations (the monkey Callicebus aureipalatii, named for the GoldenPalace online casino) that paid their discoverer for the honor.

 

By various estimates, about 2,000,000 know/named species, and 20,000,000 to 100,000,000 living species. Continuing to come up with catchy names for them as they’re discovered will likely be increasingly difficult.

 

 Thanks Craig! I find that link you posted to the list of organisms named after famous people fascinating! It makes me wonder what the criteria is for naming something after someone. I get some of the names, like Agra schwarzeneggeri, but then there are others and I am left to wonder why Jimmy Fallon has something named after him. Or if the spider that was named after Angelina Jolie had a *reason* to get that name, like uber full lips? ;)