By Neia Balao
12:00pm PDT, Jul 15, 2022
_
Scientists are just like us — they love pop culture too! From Academy Award winners to royals to former world leaders, join Wonderwall.com as we take a look at newly discovered animal and plant species that scientists decided to name after some of the globe's most notable stars. First up? After discovering a new species of lichen, a plant-like growth, in 2007, Kerry Knudsen — a lichen curator at the University of California, Riverside's UCR Herbarium decided to name it after President Barack Obama. "I named it Caloplaca obamae to show my appreciation for the president's support of science education" Kerry told Phys.org of the discovery, which was published in the March 2008 issue of "Opuscula Philolichenum." "I made the final collections of C. obamae during the suspenseful final weeks of President Obama's campaign for the United States presidency, and this paper was written during the international jubilation over his election… Indeed, this final draft was completed on the very day of President Obama's inauguration."
Keep reading for more…
RELATED: Stars at the beach in 2022
_
In 2022, scientists from the University of California, Riverside named a new nematode species Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi after actor Jeff Daniels, People magazine reported. The name was inspired by his character, Dr. Ross Jennings, from 1990's "Arachnophobia."
RELATED: Celebrity PDA of 2022
_
In 2015, the same arachnologists who named a spider species after Andrew Garfield — Yuri M. Marusik and Alireza Zamani — named one after another "Spider-Man" actor: Tobey Maguire. The Filistata maguirei was discovered in Iran.
_
"Don't Look Up" star Leonardo DiCaprio has inspired the names of several critters. There are four animal species named after the Oscar-winning actor: the grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi and metallactus dicaprioi beetles, as well as the misumessus dicaprioi and spintharus leonardodicaprioi spiders.
_
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.
_
According to CBS News, in 2013, Jason Bond of Auburn University in Alabama identified 33 new species of trapdoor spiders and named one aptostichus angelinajolieae after Angelina Jolie!
_
Brad Pitt is insect inspiration! According to Sci News, in 2016, an international group of scientists named a new species of parasitic wasp found in South Africa conobregma bradpitti after the Oscar winner.
_
In 2022, the New York Post revealed that a millipede found in the Appalachian Mountains was named nannaria swiftae after none other than Taylor Swift! "Her music helped me get through the highs and lows of graduate school, so naming a new millipede species after her is my way of saying thanks," said Virginia Tech entomologist Derek Hennen in a statement.
_
After seeing the green Armani Privé look that 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 in her honor — creating the genus Gaga — in part because the LGBTQ rights advocate's costume resembled a gametophyte, the bisexual reproductive stage of a ferns. Two of the 19 species are new to science: Gaga germanotta, which comes from Costa Rica, is named in honor of the singer-actress's family (Gaga was born Stefani Germanotta) and Gaga monstraparva, which is a Mexican species, translates to "little monsters" in honor of Gaga's dedicated fanbase. "We wanted to name this genus for Lady Gaga because of her fervent defense of equality and individual expression," Kathleen Pryer, a Duke University biology professor and director of the Duke Herbarium, told Duke Today.
_
In 2012, researchers from CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia, named a previously unnamed species of horse fly scaptia (plinthina) beyonceae after Queen Bey, according to Live Science. Their reason for doing so? The insect is considered the "all-time diva of flies."
_
In 2014, a research team discovered a new aquatic mite species in Puerto Rico, which they named Litarachna lopezae after Jennifer Lopez, according to Entomology Today. Why they went with that name? Because "J.Lo's songs and videos kept the team in a continuous good mood" while they were working, lead author Vladimir Pešić from the University of Montenegro told the publication.
_
According to Live Science, the University of Michigan's Moises Kaplan identified a new species of Colombian tree frog that he decided to name after music star Sting. The amphibian, which is now known as Hyla stingi, received its name to honor the "Every Breath You Take" singer's work in rainforest conservation.
_
Jason Bond, a scientist at Alabama's Auburn University who named a species of trapdoor spider after Angelina Jolie, also did the same for U2 frontman Bono! The species he discovered in California's Joshua Tree National Park took on the name of A. bonoi. (This decision might have had something to do with the fact that U2's 1987 album is titled "The Joshua Tree.")
_
According to Reptiles Magazine, a species of treefrog found by Dr. Luis A. Coloma in Ecuador in 2008 was named Hyloscritus princecharlesi after Britain's Prince Charles to honor his advocacy for the protection of rainforests.
_
Shakira's hips don't lie — and it seems these scientists remembered that! 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 Mountains in Ecuador — was named aleiodes shakirae because the wasp's sting causes host caterpillars to wiggle and move in ways that reminded them of Shakira's dance moves.
_
Why have just one species named after you when you could have five? "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert has five critters honoring him: the beetle sonoma colberti, the diving beetle agaporomorphus colberti, the spider Aptostichus stephencolberti, the stonefly Diamphipnoa colberti and the parasitic wasp Aleiodes colberti.
