Animals Named After Actors

A fossil named Mick Jagger: Sir Mick Jagger, the lead vocalist and a founder member of the Rolling Stones, is one of the most famous musicians of the world. And now scientists have named the fossil of an ancient swamp-dwelling creature that lived 19 million years ago in Africa after the musician because its lips resembled him. A PTI report says that researchers have given it the scientific name Jaggermeryx naida, which translates to 'Jagger's water nymph'. The report adds that as per the researchers, the newly discovered species shared something in common with the singer and that is its super-sized lips. Quoting anthropologist Dr Ellen Miller of Wake Forest University of North Carolina, who was part of a team who found the fossil, the PTI report adds that “I’m a huge Stones fan. Some of my colleagues suggested naming the new species after Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, because she also has famous lips. But for me it had to be Mick.” Let us have a look at other strange things and creatures that have been named after celebs.

A Dog and goat named after Shah Rukh Khan: Bollywood's eternal lover boy Shah Rukh Khan is one of the most popular actors of the country. Hence, it does not come as a surprise that his fans or rivals name their pets after him. Now, a goat named Shah Rukh is one of the central characters in National Award winning filmmaker Janaki Vishwanathan's Bakrapur! In fact the child actor, who is a fan of the star, decided to name the film's main character - the goat- after his idol. The director explains that since there is a tendency in rural India to name pets after superstars so they thought to christen the goat as Shah Rukh. Well this is not the first time than an animal has been named after SRK. In fact a furore was created when actor Aamir Khan had referred to Shah Rukh as his dog. In 2008, Aamir had said that, "Shah Rukh is licking my feet and I am feeding him biscuits every now and then. What more can I ask for?" However, he later cleared that Shah Rukh was the name of dog of the caretakers.

A beetle named after Arnold Schwarzenegger: Hollywood actor and former Governor of California has a beetle named after him. Discovered in 2002, the Agra schwarzeneggeri is a species of carabid beetle named after the actor due to its markedly developed biceps-like middle femora (bone) of the male of this species. Since the beetle's physique reminded its discoverers of the actor's body, the scientists thought of naming the beetle after the actor. Arnold has this rough and tough image and has played lead roles in several action flicks such as The Terminator, True Lies, End of Days and Escape Plan. The actor has also had a successful stint in comedy with films such as Junior and Kindergarten Cop.

A spider named after Angelina Jolie: Angelina Jolie's name was given to a trapdoor spider. The species is named 'Aptostichus angelinajolieae' and is known to build lairs with trip ropes and wait for their prey. It is said that they seize their prey after jumping out of their burrows and inject it with venom. It was reported that Auburn University professor Jason Bond had christened in her honour to appreciate her work on the United Nations High Commission for Refugee.

Beetle named after Kate Winslet: Kate Winslet, the gorgeous actress who stole our hearts by her endearing performance in Titanic, has been honoured as a beetle has been named after her. Terry Erwin, the entomologist who discovered the beetle, told international media that Agra Katewinsletae was named after the actress for her role in the famous movie Titanic. Just as the actress faced many dangers in the movie, this species too has a danger of getting extinct in case of forest loss. In fact, he was quoted as saying that while the heroine was saved, he is not sure ifthis species will face a similar fate, if all tropical forests will be lost and turn into pasture. Her other prominent movies are The Reader, Sense and Sensibility, and Revolutionary Road.

A horse fly named after Beyonce: This is among the recent discoveries (in 2012) when a young Australian researcher discovered a rare species of horse fly and named it after the famous singer Beyonce. Called Scaptia beyonceae, this fly has dense golden hair on its abdomen that led the researcher to name it after the singer. The researcher told The Telegraph that Beyonce would be “in the nature history books forever”. He also said that the fly now bearing her name is “pretty bootylicious” with its golden backside. Bootylicious was the title of a song by Beyonce’s previous group, Destiny’s Child. It is indeed interesting to compare a fly with the feisty singer.

Spider named after Harrison Ford: The Hollywood hunk is among those very rare actors who has a species of spiders (Calponia harrisonfordi) and ants (Pheidole harrisonfordi) named after him in honor of his dedicated conservation work. It is his love for nature and wildlife that has made him a favourite among scientists, who want to name newly discovered species after him. In fact, the actor told San Diego Union-Tribune that a scientist had also wanted to name a species of butterfly after him as well. However, he asked him to name it after his daughter instead. The actor was a part of the board of global nonprofit group Conservation International for nearly 20 years.