Harrison Ford and other celebrities who have had animal species named after them

Spiders, lizards and even a sea snail have been named after some of these famous faces

Harrison Ford inspired the name of a recently discovered species of snake. Getty Images; Edgar Lehr for Conservation International

Harrison Ford is the latest celebrity to have an animal species named after him. A new variety of snake found in Peru has been named the Tachymenoides harrisonfordi in appreciation of the actor and his environment advocacy over the years.

He also has a species of ant (the Pheidole harrisonfordi) and a spider (the Calponia harrisonfordi) named after him. However, he isn't the only famous face to have received the honour.

Here are five other celebrities who have inspired names of new species.

Jackie Chan

The action star had a species of lizard named after him in 2021 – the Cnemaspis jackieii. The lizard is known for its ability to move rapidly and hide inside small crevices, which reminded the researchers of Jackie Chan. The reptile can be found in southern India.

“Whenever we attempted to catch it, it would spring from one rock to the other, and crawl into the smallest of crevices to escape us,” said Saunak Pal of the Bombay Natural History Society in Mumbai.

In 2020, a wasp was named the Acrotaphus jackiechani after the actor.

Jane Goodall

A baby bilby triplet was named Jane after British conservationist Jane Goodall in 2017.

"Dr Jane Goodall is a living legend and one of the greatest conservationists of all time," said Frank Manthey, co-founder of Save the Bilby Fund. "She's been an idol of mine for so many years, and to finally get to meet her is, well, words won't describe it."

She also has a species of sea snail named after her, called Gibberula goodallae.

Sir David Attenborough

Famed British naturalist Sir David Attenborough has more than 40 species named after him, according to the BBC's Wildlife Magazine.

This includes a black-eyed satyr butterfly called Euptychia attenboroughi (2015), a type of dragonfly called Acisoma attenboroughi (2016) and flat lizard known as Platysaurus attenboroughi (2015).

"We thought it fitting the lizard be named after the world-famous naturalist after he made famous a closely related flat lizard species in the BBC series Life in Cold Blood," said Martin Whiting, who was part of a group of scientists who helped discover the new species of lizard.

Taylor Swift

The singer inspired the name of a new millipede species discovered last year. Researchers discovered the arthropod in the Appalachian Mountains in North America, along with 16 other types of millipede species.

Derek Hennen, lead study author and a researcher at Virginia Tech, is a fan of Taylor Swift and decided to name one of the millipede species Nannaria swiftae, or Swift twisted-claw millipede.

"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," Hennen said.

David Bowie

Once described as looking like a spider, David Bowie was the inspiration behind the Heteropoda davidbowie, a type of huntsman spider found in parts of Malaysia, Singapore and southern Thailand.

Peter Jager, the German spider expert who discovered the new species, said naming spiders after celebrities helps to draw attention to their marginal status.

"On the occasion of Bowie's 75th birthday, I wanted to commemorate this incomparable artist who left us much too early, but what matters most to me here is the idea of conservation: We only protect what we know – and an attractive name is much more likely to be remembered," said Jager in 2022.