UCR Insect FAQ page -- info and links for some common insect questions
World Bee Genera
BugGuide -- public photos of arthropods from North America, offering expert ID help
Entomological Society of America Homepage
Smithsonian Entomology Home Page
"The Natural History Museum" (alias the British Museum)
Book of Insect World Records
Common insect pests, etc. ("Featured Creatures")
Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)
Homeowner's Guide to Internet Insect Resources
AntWeb
International Bee Research Association

iNaturalist -- a global repository of public photos of all organisms!
The Tree of Life Home Page
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
Plant taxonomy database, USDA-ARS Germplasm Information Network
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)
International Center For Tropical Ecology at UMSL
Missouri Botanical Garden TROPICOS Page
Association For Tropical Biology
The Natural Heritage Network Central Server
The National Wildlife Refuge Association
National Wildflower Research Center
The International Arid Lands Consortium
Sierra Club
National Wildlife Federation
National Audubon Society
The Cephalopod Page

Nomenclator Zoologicus - probably THE best online resource for looking up genus names
Journal Preview Service (very nice for keeping informed)
National Science Foundation
"Nature" Magazine Online
"Science" Magazine Online
"New Scientist" Online
National Climatic Data Center
USGS Mapping Information: Geographic Names Information System (GNIS; US gazetteer)
Defense Mapping Agency GEOnet Names Server (an international gazetteer)
MapQuest On-line Atlas -- like Rand McNally & AAA rolled into one
The NIST Chemistry WebBook -- data on just about any organic compound

The Snopes Urban Legends Site -- an indispensable resource for spotting hoaxes
WHOIS -- to see who they are and where they live

Discovery Channel Online
NPR Online
The Onion (an irreverent pseudo-tabloid)
News of the Weird
The Straight Dope
Comic Strips Online

Curious Scientific Names

by Douglas Yanega (an electronic work-in-progress) VERSION 3-13-2024

This list has evolved from Arnold Menke's classic article "Funny or curious zoological names" (BOGUS, Volume -2, 1993 April Fool's Issue; 24-27 [yes, that's volume *negative* 2]), expanded to include some fungi and plants. Many of the fly and plant names below are things I dug out of the literature myself, but many of the others are things I've picked up over the Internet, or had passed along to me by various people. I gratefully welcome anyone to contribute additional names, or author names and years for the various taxa, but I make no promises as to remembering who all gave me what, or giving credit where credit is due, unless you donate a huge heap of stuff (I already blew it long ago when I started this list, and starting now would be a disservice to the dozen or so contributors whom I've already forgotten - the only ones I recall are my brother Michael, who supplied many of the fish names, and also a number from Mark Isaak, and some moth names from James Adams). Mark has set up his own web page since I created mine, and it has expanded more rapidly than mine, so there is now considerable overlap between our lists (we each lift names from one another's lists, as time goes on), but his (Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature) is still worth a visit, as it contains a few categories I lack, and is more exhaustive in certain areas. A substantial addition comes courtesy of Gary McDonald, who selflessly supplied a lengthy list of mostly molluscs, for which I am genuinely grateful, and several submissions from Charles Turner. For those amused by the phony scientific names used for the old Warner Brothers "Roadrunner and Coyote" cartoons, here's a link to a complete list of those names, too. There is also a very similar website dealing with "Silly Molecule Names," and a more general look at names, naming practices, and humorous aspects thereof at Carnival of Names.

Alfaro Meek, 1912 (knife fish)
Amanda Macnae, 1954 (snail)
Andrzej Slipinski, 2007 (ladybird beetle)
Angela Audinet-Serville, 1838 (mantis), also Angela Lesson, 1843 (coelenterate) and Angela Gonzalez-Sponga, 1987 (opilionid)
Archimedes Lesueur, 1842 (bryozoan with a corkskrew-shaped support)
Archytas Jaennicke, 1867 (tachinid fly)
Balboa Distant, 1893 (seed bug)
Barbara Heinrich, 1923 (tortricid moth)
Bellinda Keyserling, 1884 (spider; synonymized)
Berta Kirkaldy, 1902
Brenda Oman, 1941 (leafhopper)
Caligula Moore, 1862 (silkmoth), also Caligula Aurivillius, 1879 (tiger moth)
Candace Stål (stink bug)
Camilla Haliday, 1836 (fly)
Carlota Arias-Bohart, 2014 (click beetle)
Celina Aubé, 1837-38 (diving beetle)
Clara Gill, 1862 (fish)
Clarissa Kirby, 1894 (wasp)
Claudia Stål, 1864 (bug)
Claudius Des Gozis, 1882 (beetle; synonymized)
Cletus Stål (leaf-footed bug)
Confucius Distant, 1907 (bug)
Cristina Loman, 1902 (opilionid)
Cynthia D. Don, 1829 (goat's-beard) and Cynthia Fabricius, 1807 (moth; many homonyms by later authors)
Damon Koch, 1850 (whip scorpion)
Daphne Linnaeus, 1753 (laurel), also a mollusc
Delilah Dillon & Dillon, 1945 (longhorn beetle)
Diana Risso, 1826 (fish), also Diana Laporte & Gory, 1837 (buprestid beetle; synonymized)
Dido Arnett, 1955 (click beetle; synonymized)
Doris (nudibranch)
Drusilla Leach, 1819 (rove beetle)
Electra Lamouroux, 1816 (bryozoan)
Emma Gray, 1843 (bryozoan)
Erica Linnaeus, 1753 (heather)
Erika Griveaud, 1976 (moth)
Esmeralda Thomson (longhorned beetle; now a subgenus)
Esperanza Barber, 1906 (stink bug)
Eugenia Linnaeus (fruit tree)
Evita Capps, 1943 (geometrid moth)
Figaro Whitley, 1928 (shark)
Fiona (mollusc)
Francesca Kirkaldy, 1906 (planthopper)
Georgetta Dworakowska, 2011 (leafhopper)
Gilda Giglio-Tos (mantis; synonymized)
Godiva MacNae, 1954 (nudibranch)
Goya Ragonot, 1888 (pyralid moth)
Grant Aristov, 2018 (roach-like fossil insect)
Greta (butterfly), also Greta Hemming (snail) - one of these is probably not valid
Griselda Heinrich, 1923 (tortricid moth)
Guillermo Slipinski, 2007 (ladybird beetle)
Hermione (stratiomyid fly)
Hilda Kirkaldy (planthopper)
Hulda Heinrich, 1926 (tortricid moth)
Inga Busck, 1908 (oecophorid moth)
Iris (mantis)
Isabel Kirkaldy, 1902 (plant bug)
Julia (mollusc)
Lara (riffle beetle)
Larisa Miller, 1979 (tortricid moth)
Lavinia (carp)
Linda Thomson, 1864 (longhorn beetle)
Livia Latreille, 1805 (psyllid bug)
Liza Jordan & Swain, 1884 (mullet)
Lola Kratochvil, 1937 (opilionid)
Lucia Swainson, 1833 (butterfly)
Marietta Motschulsky (chalcidoid wasp)
Marisa (snail)
Mathilda (mollusc)
Melanie (mollusc)
Melba Casey (rove beetle)
Melinda Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (fly)
Melissa Linnaeus, 1753 (lemon balm)
Mercedes Johnson, 1991 (butterfly)
Nat Slipinski, 2007 (ladybird beetle)
Natalia Gray, 1840 (echinoderm)
Norma Heinrich, 1923 (tortricid moth; synonymized)
Ophelia (annelid)
Patricia Fox (snail)
Pauline Siveter, 2012 (fossil crustacean; about as straightforward an honorific as one can get, named after the author's wife)
Penelope (bird)
Phoebe Audinet-Serville, 1835 (longhorn beetle)
Phyllis Gistel, 1847 (leaf beetle; synonymized)
Plato Coddington, 1986 (spider)
Priscilla Thomson, 1864 (longhorn beetle)
Prunella (dunnock), also Prunella Linnaeus, 1753 (dragon-head)
Rajendra Moore, 1879 (tiger moth)
Ramona Casey, 1886 (beetle)
Regina Baird & Girard, 1853 (snake)
Rita Bleeker, 1859 (catfish)
Robert Slipinski, 2007 (ladybird beetle)
Roger Slipinski, 2007 (ladybird beetle)
Rosalinda Totton, 1949 (hydrozoan)
Sappho Reichenbach, 1849 (bird)
Sharon Arias-Bohart & Elgueta, 2015 (click beetle)
Sofia Arias, 2005 (click beetle)
Sonia Heinrich, 1926 (tortricid moth)
Sophia Adanson, 1763 (tansy-mustard)
Spartacus Distant, 1884 (leaf bug)
Stefania Rivero, 1968 (frog)
Susana Rohwer & Middleton 1932 (sawfly)
Sylvia (warblers)
Thais (snail)
Tina Powell, 1986 (moth)
Tobias Simon, 1895 (crab spider)
Tristan Kirkaldy, 1901 (bug; synonymized)
Tyson (percine fish)
Ulrike Aspock, 1968 (snakefly)
Vanessa (butterfly)
Veronica Linnaeus, 1753 (speedwell)
Vladimir Triapitsyn, 2013 (chalcidoid wasp)
Waldo Nicoll, 1966 (parasitic clam)
Wioletta Slipinski, 2007 (ladybird beetle)

Adonis Linnaeus, 1753 (bird's-eye; Ranunculaceae), also Adonis Gronow, 1854 (fish)
Akela, Bagheera, Messua, & Nagaina Peckham & Peckham, 1986 (jumping spiders; after characters in Kipling's "Jungle Book")
Andromeda Linnaeus, 1753 (wild rosemary), also Andromeda Gistel, 1834 (buprestid beetle; synonymized)
Anubis Thomson, 1864 (longhorn beetle)
Aphrodite Leske, 1775 (Sea Mouse, a polychaete; many homonyms by later authors)
Aquarius Schellenberg, 1800 (water strider)
Astarte Sowerby, 1816 (clam), also Astarte de Blainville, 1828 (polychaete)
Baalzebub Coddington, 1986 (spider)
Batman Whitley, 1956 (fish; synonymized)
Cerberus Cuvier, 1829 (dog-faced water snakes)
Ceres Gray, 1856 (snail)
Chronos Robson, 1914 (snail)
Cinderella Steyskal, 1949 (heleomyzid fly)
Croesus Leach, 1817 (sawfly)
Cyrano Needham & Gyger, 1939 (damselfly)
Daggoo, Queequeg, and Tashtego Sime & Wahl, 2002 (wasps; after the harpoonists in Melville's "Moby Dick")
Damocles (fossil shark; males had an elaborate projection from the back that ended poised over the head)
Demogorgon Kirby, 1891 (earwig; synonymized - the name should be familiar to anyone who has ever played Dungeons and Dragons)
Dracula Luer, 1978 (orchid; the flower supposedly resembles a bat)
Eros Newman, 1838 (lycid beetle)
Freya Koch, 1850 (jumping spider)
Gargantua Jullien, 1888 (bryozoan)
Gog Fortey, 1975 (trilobite)
Hades Westwood, 1851 (metalmark butterfly)
Hermes Montfort, 1810 (snail; now a subgenus)
Iago Compagno & Springer, 1971 (shark)
Icarus Forbes, 1844 (snail; synonymized)
Kali Lloyd, 1909 (deepsea swallower fish)
Leia Meigen, 1818 (fungus gnat)
Lucifer Doderlein, 1882 (fish)
Mars Jordan & Seale, 1906 (fish)
Mephisto Tyler, 1966 (spikefish)
Nemo McAlpine, 1983 (fly)
Niobe Angelin, 1851 (trilobite)
Nyx Heppner, 1982 (pyralid moth)
Oedipus (salamander)
Ophiuchus Distant, 1918 (leafhopper)
Orcus Mulsant, 1850 (ladybird beetle - the name should be familiar to anyone who has ever played Dungeons and Dragons)
Orion Guérin-Méneville, 1844 (longhorn beetle)
Osiris Smith, 1854(bee)
Ouroborus Stanley et al., 2011 (spiky South African lizard whose defensive posture is to form a ring by biting its own tail)
Pandora Bruguière, 1797 (clam)
Pegasus Linnaeus, 1758 (seamoth fish)
Phaeton Linnaeus, 1758 (tropicbird)
Pinocchio Pagliano & Scaramozzino, 1990 (pteromalid wasp; synonymized)
Pluto (aphid wasp)
Polyphemus (water flea)
Poseidon Herklots, 1851 (crustacean)
Prometheus Hübner, 1824 (moth)
Satan Hubbs & Bailey, 1947 (catfish)
Semiramis Becker, 1913 (bee fly)
Terpsichore (paradise flycatcher)
Thanos Delcourt & Iori, 2018 (dinosaur; after the Marvel comics supervillain)
Theseus (stink bug)
Venus Linnaeus, 1758 (clam)
Yoda Priede et al., 2012 (acorn worm)
Zeus Linnaeus, 1758 (dory fish)
Zuul Arbour & Evans, 2017 (dinosaur; after Zuul, a demon in "Ghostbusters" whose skull was similar in appearance)

Amnesia Horn, 1876 (weevil; synonymized)
Anemia (fern), also Anemia Laporte, 1840 (darkling beetle; synonymized)
Anthrax Scopoli, 1763 (bee fly)
Caecum (mollusc)
Cerebrum Schroder Medioli & Scott, 1989 (protist)
Coccyx Treitschke, 1829 (moth; synonymized)
Clyster Arrow, 1908 (scarab beetle; see also under species)
Dialysis Walker (coenomyiid fly)
Edema Walker, 1855 (moth)
Emesis Fabricius, 1807 (metalmark butterfly)
Enema Hope, 1837 (scarab beetle; see also under species)
Fibula Leske, 1778 (echinoderm)
Glaucoma (protozoan)
Hippocampus (seahorse)
Malleus (hammer oyster)
Oestrus (bot fly)
Papilloma Wang, 1989 (wasp)
Patella (limpet)
Retina Walker, 1854 (moth)
Scabies Haas, 1911 (clam)
Sepsis Fallen, 1810 (dung fly)
Syngamia Guenee, 1854 (pyralid moth)
Syrinx Roding, 1798 (snail)
Systole Walker, 1832 (eurytomid wasp)
Thorax Saussure, 1862 (roach)
Thymus Girault, 1916 (eulophid wasp)
Tibia (conch)
Trachea (noctuid moth)
Trapezium Megerle, 1811 (clam)
Tumor Huang, 1990 (pteromalid wasp)
Ulna Capuse, 1973 (moth)

Acadia Vockeroth (fungus gnat)
Aethiopia Aurivillius, 1911 (longhorn beetle)
Alabama Grote, 1895 (moth)
Alamosa Hampson, 1901 (pyralid moth; synonymized)
Altoona Hulst, 1888 (pyralid moth; synonymized)
America Santos-Silva & Tavakilian 2009 (longhorned beetle)
Andes Stål, 1866 (planthopper)
Appalachia (grasshopper)
Argentina Linnaeus, 1758 (fish)
Arivaca Shaffer, 1968 (pyralid moth)
Atlanta (snail)
Atascosa Hulst, 1890 (pyralid moth)
Asia Pergens, 1887 (coelenterate; not valid)
Australia Girault, 1928 (wasp)
Babylonia Schlüter, 1838 (mollusc)
Caddo Banks, 1892 (opilionid)
Cadiz Andrews & Gilbert 1992 (leaf beetle)
Calais Laporte de Castelnau, 1838 (click beetle)
Caledonia Pickard-Cambridge, 1894 (spider; synonymized)
Cayuga Hulst, 1888 (pyralid moth; synonymized)
China Burr, 1899 (grasshopper)
Cochabamba (leaf beetle)
Colfax Andrewes, 1920 (ground beetle)
Colombia Rang, 1835 (a mollusc)
Corcovado Lane, 1973 (longhorn beetle)
Cuba Dyar, 1919 (moth)
Evora Heinrich, 1926 (moth)
Florida Baird, 1858 (bird)
Gardena Dohrn (assassin bug)
Gaza (snail)
Gonzaga (lacewing)
Iberia Kirkaldy, 1907 (leafhopper)
Lajolla Linnavuori, 1959 (leafhopper)
Loyola (lacewing)
Maricopa Hulst, 1890 (pyralid moth)
Memphis (butterfly)
Mexico Spilman, 1972 (beetle)
Mineola Hulst, 1890 (pyralid moth; synonymized)
Napo Linnavuori & DeLong, 1976 (leafhopper)
Ocala Hulst, 1892 (pyralid moth)
Osaka Distant, 1909 (planthopper)
Osceola Hulst, 1891 (pyralid moth; synonymized)
Panama Marsh, 1993 (wasp)
Patagonia (pyralid moth)
Peoria Ragonot, 1887 (pyralid moth)
Petaluma Hulst, 1888 (pyralid moth; synonymized)
Pima Hulst, 1888 (pyralid moth)
Polynesia Swinhoe, 1892 (moth)
Reynosa Shaffer, 1968 (pyralid moth)
Rio Kirkaldy, 1909 (stinkbug)
Russia Polenova, 1952 (crustacean)
Sarasota Hulst, 1900 (pyralid moth)
Seneca Hulst, 1890 (pyralid moth; synonymized)
Sinaloa Scudder, 1897 (grasshopper)
Sonoma Casey (rove beetle; see species below)
Sonora Baird & Girard, 1853 (snake)
Stromboli (mollusc)
Tacoma Hulst, 1888 (pyralid moth)
Tampa Ragonot, 1887 (pyralid moth)
Tasmania Tonnoir & Malloch, 1926 (fly; synonymized)
Texas Kirkaldy, 1904 (bug)
Tonga Kirkaldy, 1900 (planthopper)
Tulsa Heinrich, 1956 (pyralid moth)
Uinta Hulst, 1888 (pyralid moth)
Unadilla Hulst, 1890 (pyralid moth)
Valdivia Ragonot, 1888 (pyralid moth)
Valencia Sauvage, 1880 (carp)
Yukon Chamberlin & Ivie, 1947 (spider; synonymized)

Acheron Lefebvre, 1842 (owlfly)
Acropolis Hemming, 1934 (butterfly)
Agape Felder, 1874 (tiger moth)
Alienates Barber, 1953 (gnat bug)
Aloha Kirkaldy, 1904 (bug)
Amiga Nakahara et al., 2019 (neotropical satyr butterfly)
Ambrosia Linnaeus, 1753 (ragweed)
Amphora Cumberland, 1826 (echinoderm, also a weevil, also a snail)
Anticlimax Pilsbry & McGinty, 1946 (fossil snail)
Apache Kirkaldy, 1901 (derbid planthopper)
Apocrypha Eschscholtz, 1831 (darkling beetle)
Areas Walker, 1855 (tiger moth)
Aria (beam-tree)
Armada Staudinger, 1884 (moth)
Athletes Karsch, 1896 (silkmoth)
Aurora Ragonot, 1887 (pyralid moth; synonymized)
Automate De Man, 1888 (pistol shrimp)
Balsa Walker, 1860 (noctuid moth)
Bandera Ragonot, 1887 (pyralid moth)
Banjos Bleeker, 1876 (percine fish)
Betelgeuse Shaw, 1988 (braconid wasp)
Bonus Moskalev, 1973 (limpet)
Box Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1830 (fish)
Cafeteria Fenchel & Paterson 1988 (protist)
Calypso (orchid; also a pteromalid wasp)
Camera Townes, 1962 (ichneumon wasp)
Campanile (mollusc)
Cannabis Blyth, 1850 (bird)
Car (weevil)
Cassis (helmet shell)
Chaos Linnaeus, 1767 (amoeba)
Chinchilla Girault, 1928 (Encyrtid wasp; synonymized)
Chorus Gray, 1847 (snail)
Circus (hawk)
Cis (fungus beetle)
Codon Linnaeus (borage) and Codon Fennah, 1962 (planthopper)
Conga Evans, 1955 (skipper)
Consul Cramer, 1776 (butterfly)
Corona (snail)
Coyote Reeder & Roth, 1988 (snail subgenus)
Creator Alekseev (megaspilid wasp)
Crypsis (grass)
Cyclops (one-eyed copepod)
Cylinder Montfort, 1810 (snail; now a subgenus)
Decodes Obratsov, 1961 (tortricid moth)
Delta de Saussure, 1855 (wasp)
Diabolo Razowski & Pelz, 2007 (moth)
Dictator Thomson, 1878 (longhorn beetle)
Disaster Gilli, 1980 (buckthorn; synonymized) and Disaster Agassiz, 1836 (echinoid)
Discus (clam)
Draco Linnaeus, 1758 (gliding lizard)
Drinker Bakker (dinosaur)
Dyslexia Skelley & Gasca-Alvarez, 2020 (fungus beetle)
Echidna Förster, 1777 (eel)
Echo Hartman, 1881 (snail; synonymized)
Electron (motmot)
Euphoria Burmeister, 1842 (scarab beetle)
Exotica (mollusc)
Formica Linnaeus (ant)
Geisha Kirkaldy, 1900 (planthopper)
Graphorn Faundez, Rider, & Carvajal, 2017 (stinkbug with horns, named after "Harry Potter" mythical beast)
Gyros H. Edwards, 1881 (pyralid moth)
Halter Rambur, 1842 (spoonwing)
Hasta Kirkaldy, 1906 (planthopper)
Helix Linnaeus, 1758 (snail)
Hero Alder & Hancock, 1855 (nudibranch)
Hiatus Cresson, 1906 (otitid fly)
Homunculus Ameghino, 1891 (fossil monkey)
Hypocrites Fåhraeus, 1872 (longhorn beetle)
Idea (danaid butterfly)
Index Boettger, 1877 (snail; now a subgenus)
Indicator (honeyguide birds; Greater Honeyguide is Indicator indicator)
Ins Evenhuis, 2020 (bee flies)
Iron Eaton, 1883 (mayfly; now placed in Epeorus)
Kinesis Burr, 1907 (earwig)
Lapsus Pacheco, 1964 (mud beetle)
Lepton Zetterstedt, 1838 (braconid wasp; synonymized)
Libido Bryk, 1950 (moth; now a subgenus)
Lithium Finnamore, 1987 (aphid wasp)
Lo Seale in Jordan & Seale, 1906 (rabbitfish)
Mama Belokobylskij, 2000 (braconid wasp)
Mamma Moersch, 1852 (mollusc)
Motes (larrine wasp)
Narnia Stål, 1862 (leaf-footed bug)
Nasturtium (watercress)
Nematodes (false click beetle)
Nemesis Risso, 1826 (copepod)
Nirvana Kirkaldy (leafhopper)
Nosferatu De la Maza-Benignos et al., 2015 (fanged fish)
Onus Rafinesque, 1810 (fish)
Palmar Schaefer, 1949 (buprestid beetle)
Panacea Godman & Salvin, 1883 (nymphalid butterfly)
Pandemonium Van Valen, 1994 (fossil mammal)
Papa Reichenbach, 1850 (bird)
Par McAlpine, 2001 (fly)
Paratype Felder, 1874 (tiger moth)
Patina Rafinesque, 1815
Pepsis (tarantula hawk wasp)
Peregrinator Kirkaldy (assassin bug)
Philander Linnaeus (opossum)
Phosphorus Thomson. 1857 (longhorn beetle)
Planes Rondani, 1863 (hoverfly; name preoccupied)
Platypus (bark beetle)
Podium Fabricius, 1804 (sphecid wasp)
Prays Hübner, 1825 (moth)
Provocator Watson, 1882 (snail)
Psyche Rang, 1825 (pteropod; synonymized)
Pupa Roding, 1798 (snail)
Purex Burr, 1911 (earwig)
Quadrophenia Rifkind, 2017 (beetle)
Radius Montfort, 1810 (snail; synonymized)
Ragnarok Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal; "Ragnarok" is the Norse mythological apocalypse; synonymized)
Republica Archibald & Cannings, 2021 (fossil damselfly)
Saga (katydid)
Salamis Boisduval, 1833 (butterfly)
Samba Friese, 1908 (bee)
Saturnalia Langer et al., 1999 (dinosaur)
Sayonara Jordan & Steele, 1906 (fish)
Schema Becker, 1907 (shore fly)
Scissor Gunther, 1864 (fish)
Sea Hayward (snail)
Sierra Fowler, 1905 (fish)
Silo Curtis, 1830 (caddisfly)
Sirius Hedley, 1900 (snail)
Ska Dworakowska, 1976 (leafhopper)
Sonata Lee, 2010 (cicada)
Spandex Burr, 1915 (earwig; synonymized)
Sphinx Linnaeus, 1758 (sphinx moth)
Sponsor Gory & Laporte, 1839 (buprestid beetle)
Stratus Schaufuss (rove beetle)
Synecdoche (Achilid planthopper)
Tagalog Hüdepohl, 1987 (longhorn beetle)
Terra Johnson & Matusik, 1988 (hairstreak butterfly)
Tia Heinrich, 1926 (moth)
Titan Matthews, 1858 (microscopic beetle; synonymized)
Torpedo Houttuyn, 1874 (ray)
Trivia Gray, 1837 (snail)
Troglodytes (wrens)
Tuba Lea, 1838 (snail; synonymized)
Tunes Stål, 1866 (assassin bug)
Turbo (snail)
Tuxedo Schuh, 2001 (plant bug)
Umbrella Lamarck, 1819 (gastropod; synonymized)
Utopia Thomson, 1864 (longhorn beetle)
Vertigo Müller, 1774 (land snail)
Villa Lioy, 1864 (bee fly; see below for one noteworthy species)
Yakuza Dworakowska, 2002 (leafhopper)
Zapata Bruner 1904 (grasshopper)
Zen Jordan, 1903 (dory fish)

Amazona Linnaeus (parrot)
Amercedes Casey (weevil)
Anonymos Walt., 1788 (plants, later split up)
Architectonica (snail)
Arfia Van Valen, 1965 (dog-like fossil)
Arthritica (mollusc)
Bama McAlpine, 2001 (fly)
Bambiraptor Burnham et al., 2002 (diminutive dinosaur)
Bazinga Gershwin & Davie, 2013 (jellyfish; after the TV character Sheldon Cooper's catchphrase)
Bloodiella Nowicki (parasitic wasp)
Borogovia Osmólska, 1987 (dinosaur; after creature from Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky")
Bulbus Brown, 1839 (snail)
Bumerangum Gnezdilov, 2012 (planthopper shaped like a boomerang)
Bunnya Baker, 1941 (snail)
Cacophonia Gistl, 1848 (clam; synonymized)
Camelotia Galton, 1985 (dinosaur from England)
Centrifuga (mollusc)
Christinea Gurjeva, 1987 (click beetle)
Cincinnatia (mollusc)
Compacta Amsel, 1956 (pyralid moth)
Contorta Megerle in Villa, 1841 (snail; synonymized)
Cornucopiae Linnaeus, 1737 (grass; synonymized)
Cucarastichus LaSalle (cockroach hyperparasitic wasp)
Curiosa Micheli, 1983 (longhorn beetle)
Draculo Snyder, 1911 (dragonet fish)
Dyaria Neumoegen, 1893 (moth; Neumoegen greatly disliked his contemporary, Dyar)
Electrona (lanternfish)
Elephantella Rydb., 1900 (figwort)
Eterna Dworakowska, 2011 (leafhopper)
Explorator Pacheco, 1964 (mud beetle)
Galaxias (deep-sea fish)
Gargoyleosaurus Carpenter, Miles, & Cloward, 1998 (dinosaur)
Hallucigenia Conway Morris, 1977 (Cambrian fossil)
Hawaiia Gude, 1911 (tiny terrestrial snail)
Hebejeebie Heads 2003 (plant; refers to "the anxiety the plants often caused taxonomists")
Hottipula Evenhuis, 1994 (fossil crane fly)
Hunkydora Fleming, 1948 (clam; a subgenus of Myadora)
Illinoia Wilson, 1910 and Iowana Hottes, 1954 (aphids)
Imbecilla Dworakowska, 1970 (leafhopper)
Impatiens Linnaeus, 1753 (touch-me-not)
Indecentia Broun (weevil)
Interjectio Heinrich, 1956 (Pyralid moth)
Ittibittium Houbrick, 1993 (mollusks smaller than those in the genus Bittium)
Ivorycoasta Dworakowska, 1972 (leafhopper)
Iyaiyai Evenhuis, 1994 (fossil fly)
Jamaicia (snail)
Japania Girault, 1911 (chalcidoid wasp)
Jujubinus Monterosato, 1884 (mollusc)
Keylimepie Fernandez-Triana, 2016 (wasp from the Florida Keys)
Klyngon Hansson, 2005 (eulophid wasp)
Leprechaunus Capener, 1950 (treehopper)
Lituania Jakimavicius, 1960 (braconid wasp)
Lumpus Rafinesque, 1815 (fish)
Lycanthropa Thomson, 1860 (darkling beetle)
Manhatta Hulst, 1890 (pyralid moth)
Massisteria Larsen & Paterson 1990 (protist)
Meomyia Evenhuis, 1983 (fly)
Meteoria (deep-sea fish)
Microsanta Breddin 1903 (assassin bug)
Monogamus Lutzen, 1976 (snail)
Moto Schouteden, 1932 (assassin bug)
Muscatheres Evenhuis, 1986 (fly; "there are only 3 Muscatheres known")
Mysteria Thomson, 1860 (longhorned beetle)
Notnops, Taintnops, and Tisentnops Platnick, 1994 (spiders; all originally placed in the genus Nops, but Platnick decided these were all distinct new genera)
Notoreas Meyrick, 1886 (moth)
Dolichisme, Ochisme, Peggichisme and Polychisme Kirkaldy, 1904 (bugs; "-chisme" is pronounced "kiss me")
Ohenri Fernandez-Triana, 2018 (braconid wasp)
Omyomymar Schauff, 1983 (mymarid wasp)
Panamia Kirkaldy, 1907
Paraguaya Girault, 1911 (chalcidoid wasp)
Parasitus Latreille, 1795 (mite)
Passadena Hulst, 1900 (pyralid moth)
Philadelpheia Kirkaldy, 1906
Pinocchias Gnezdilov & Wilson, 2005 (planthopper with long "nose")
Problema Skinner & Williams, 1924 (skipper)
Psychedelix Horny, 1993 (snail)
Ptomaspis, Dikenaspis, Ariaspis, all by Denison, 1963 (fossil fish; remove the "-aspis" from all three names to get the joke)
Ptomomys, Dickomys, and Harryomys, the latter two coined by Wood (the first is pocket gophers, the latter are related fossil taxa)
Qiyia Chen et al., 2014 (leech-like fossil fly larva; "qiyi" is Chinese for "bizarre")
Quasi Gillung & Winterton, 2011 (fly)
Sallya Hemming (snail)
Serendipidae Evenhuis, 1994 (fossil fly family)
Singapora Mahmood, 1967 (leafhopper)
Spastica Dejean, 1834 (blister beetle)
Stupidogobius Aurich, 1938 (goby)
Supercrambus Bleszynski, 1967 (pyralid moth)
This McAlpine, 1991 (fly; McAlpine had a poster on his office door with an illustration of the fly and a quote below "Look at This!")
Toktokkus Kaminski et al., 2021 (darkling beetle; the common name in Namibia for all similar beetles is "Toktokkie beetle")
Townesilitus Hesselbarth & Loan, 1983 (wasp)
Triumphis Gray, 1847 (snail)
Viviparidae (snail family)
Zinga Dworakowska, 1972 (leafhopper)

Afipia (bacterium; acronym for Armed Forces Institute of Pathology)
Cedecea (bacterium; pseudo-acronym for Centers for Disease Control)
Csiro Medvedev & Lawrence, 1984 (Australian beetle; acronym for Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
Foadia Pakaluk, 1985 (beetle; FOAD is a well-known, rude acronym - and the name was intentional)
Geocenamus Thorne, 1968 (nematode; stands for "Geographical Center of North America")
Inbiomyia Buck, 2005 (fly; honors the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad in Costa Rica - which, sadly, appears to be on the verge of closing down)
Waddlia (bacterium; acronym for Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory)

Aegrotocatellus Adrain & Edgecombe, 1995 (trilobite; literally "sick puppy", also see below under species)
Astrapotherium Burmeister, 1879 (fossil mammal; literally "lightning beast", but it was large, heavy, and slow)
Brontomerus Taylor, Wedel & Cifelli, 2011 (dinosaur; literally "thunder thigh")
Clitoria Linnaeus, 1753 (butterfly-pea)
Colepiocephale Sullivan, 2003 (dinosaur; literally "knucklehead")
Glans (snail)
Glutops Burgess, 1878 (fly; colloquially translates to "ass-face", which is what the face resembles - two rounded, hairy lumps with a groove between them)
Haimacystis Sumrall, Sprinkle, & Guensburg, 2001 (fossil crinoid; "Haimacystis is a compound of the Greek haima, flowing blood, and cystis, sac, referring to the blood dripping from superficial leg wounds suffered by one of the co-authors when the biggest slab of specimens described herein toppled over and almost crushed him.")
Humorolethalis Robinson, Li, & Yeates, 2020 (robber fly; name refers to Marvel Comics character Deadpool, and is intended to translate as "moist and dead")
Labium Brulle, 1846 (wasp)
Longiphallus Riedel, 1958 (snail; subgenus of Oxychilus)
Ludodactylus Frey et al., 2003 (pterosaur; translates as "play pterodactyl", because it resembles the previously UNrealistic plastic toys that were based on the well-known Pteranodon, but possessed sharp teeth - which Pteranodon lacked)
Lycoperdon (puffball; literally "wolf-fart")
Mammillaria (cactus)
Megapnosaurus Ivie et al., 2002 (dinosaur; literally "big dead lizard" - even though it is somewhat small for a dinosaur - this genus was renamed by entomologists who noticed the original name, Syntarsus, was already preoccupied by a beetle)
Meretrix Lamarck (clam; type species was originally named "Venus meretrix" by Linnaeus, meaning "Venus the prostitute")
Moorochloa Veldkamp, 2004 (grass; dedicated to the Committee on Botanical Nomenclature of Spermatophytes, which refused to conserve the well-known name Brachiaria, suggesting instead that a new genus should be described - the new name translates as "fool grass")
Peneothello (robin; "pene-" means "almost", and the bird is almost black)
Pulchrapollia Dyke & Cooper, 2000 (fossil parrot; translates to "Pretty Polly")
Proctaporia Morch, 1857 (nudibranch; synonymized)
Rectotormentum Nazarov & Ormiston, 1985 (radiolarian)
Sanctacaris Briggs & Collins, 1988 (fossil chelicerate; literally "Santa claws")
Semen Hoffer, 1954 (encyrtid wasp)
Vagina Megerle, 1811 (clam; synonymized)

Abudefduf Forsskal, 1775 (sergeant-major fish)
Afgoiogfa Argaman (wasp; palindrome)
Antimargarita Powell, 1951 (snail)
Antiplanes Dall, 1902 (mollusc)
Arses Lesson, 1830 (monarch flycatcher)
Barrellus Nelson & Bellamy, 1996 (buprestid beetle)
Blaps Fabricius (darkling beetle)
Bobba Bergroth, 1914 (assassin bug)
Boops Gronow, 1854 (porgy fish)
Boopsis Pierantoni, 1923 (nudibranch; synonymized)
Bugeranus Gloger, 1842 (the wattled crane)
Ca Dyar, 1914 (moth)
Cracca Linnaeus, 1753 (goat's rue)
Cryomyia Hull, 1973 (bee fly)
Cylistix Marseul, 1857 (hister beetle)
Dabba Uvarov, 1933 (grasshopper)
Dasypops Miranda Ribeiro, 1924 (amphibian)
Eboo Reid, 1993 (leaf beetle)
Euerythra Harvey, 1876 (arctiid moth)
Eurygenius Ferté-Senectère, 1849 (pyrochroid beetle)
Exix Mason, 1981 (braconid wasp)
Fartulum Carpenter, 1857 (snail)
Fukuia Abbott & Hunter, 1949 (snail)
Gopherus Rafinesque, 1815 (desert tortoise)
Hornia Riley, 1878 (meloid beetle)
Hypsypops Gill, 1861 (garibaldi fish)
Inkaka Girault, 1939 (chalcidoid wasp)
Ips De Geer, 1775 (bark beetle)
Ittys Girault, 1911 (microscopic parasitic wasps)
Kaniwhaniwhanus Boothroyd, 1998 (midge)
Lanopis, Nopalis, Planois, Sniploa Signoret, 1863 and Sinopla Signoret, 1864 (all stink bugs, all anagrams of "Spinola", after the entomologist Maximilian Spinola)
Leylaiya Efflatoun, 1945 (bee fly)
Mangina Kaleka & Kirti, 2001 (moth; you don't want to google this genus name, ever)
Mimetaster (fossil arthropod)
Mnoonema Motschulsky, 1863 (pteromalid wasp)
Mooa Girault, 1930 (chalcidoid wasp; synonymized)
Moodnodes Neunzig, 1990 (pyralid moth)
Norape Walker, 1855 (megalopygid moth)
Numonia Ragonot, 1893 (pyralid moth)
Oobius Trjapitsyn (chalcidoid wasp)
Oops Agassiz, 1846 (arachnid) and Oops Germar, 1848 (beetle)
Oozetetes De Santis (chalcidoid wasp)
Oreohelix (snail)
Partystona (darkling beetle)
Pingblax Komiya & Drumont, 2001 (longhorn beetle)
Pnyxia (fly)
Poospiza (warbling-finch)
Prospheres (buprestid beetle)
Pupsikus (nudibranch)
Schizogenius (carabid beetle)
Seleborca Andrassy, 1985 (nematode; split off from genus Acrobeles)
Soranus Rafinesque, 1815 (fish)
Sors McAlpine, 2007 (fly)
Stinga Evans, 1955 (skipper)
Superstitionia Stahnke, 1940 (scorpion)
Templemania Busck, 1940 (tortricid moth)
Texananus Ball, 1918 (leafhopper)
Tortor Kirkaldy, 1907 (leafhopper)
Ua Girault, 1929 (torymid wasp)
Wawu Evenhuis, 1999 (fruit fly)
Xyzzors Inglis, 1966 (nematode)
Zigzagiceras Buckman, 1902, Zigzagites Buckman, 1922, Epizigzagiceras Frebold & Tipper, 1973, Procerozigzag Arkell, 1953, and Phaulozigzag Buckman, 1926 (fossil ammonites with zigzag suture lines)
Zingis Martens, 1878 (snail; now a subgenus)
Zooblax Thomson, 1877 (longhorn beetle)
Zyx Smit, 1953 (flea)
Zyxmyia Bowden, 1960 (bee fly)

Aa Reichenbach, 1858 and Aa Baker, 1940 (orchid and mollusc, respectively; very first generic names alphabetically in their respective kingdoms)
Aaaba Bellamy, 2002 (buprestid beetle)
Aegilops Hall, 1850 (mollusc; longest word with all letters in alphabetical order)
Cicadellidae (leafhoppers; longest name with all letters twice)
Gammaracanthuskytodermogammarus Dybowski, 1926 (amphipod; tie for longest genus name at 31 characters; see below for binomial)
Iouea de Laubenfels, 1955 (extinct sponge)
Kimmeridgebrachypteraeschnidium Fleck & Nel, 2003 (fossil dragonfly; tie for longest genus name)
Schtschurowskia Regel & Schmalhausen, 1882 (umbellifer; longest string of consonants excluding "y")
Zyzzyzus (hydroid; absolute last genus name alphabetically...at present)

Abba Castanheira & Framenau, 2023 (orb weaver spider)
Allsortsia Reid & Beatson, 2010 (beetle, after a brand of licorice sweets with similar coloration)
Balnibarbi Fortey, 1974 (trilobite; after the inept technocracy in "Gulliver's Travels")
Belantsea Leseuer, 1818 (fossil fish; named for the legendary ancestor of the Crow tribal nation)
Bowie Jäger, 2022 (spider)
Buzzops Bakker (fossil turtle; named for the proprietor of a popular Rock River, Wyoming bar and cafe)
Casanovula Hoare & van Nieukerken, 2013 (subgenus of moths with elaborate sexual adornments in the males)
Cheguevaria Kazantsev, 2006 (firefly)
Cocacolaria Hoffman, 1987 (millipede)
Coquena Schlinger et al., 2013 (fly from Argentina; named after an Argentinian mythical protector of animals, who wears a hat and bright poncho - the flies are iridescent and have a hat-like knob on the head)
Charonosaurus Godefroit, Zan & Jin, 2000 (Cretaceous hadrosaur from China; name honors Charon, the ancient Greek ferryman of the newly deceased, as the fossils were discovered on the south bank of the Amur River, dividing not the land of the living from Hades, but China from Russia)
Crichtonsaurus Dong, 2002 (ankylosaur; after "Jurassic Park" author Michael Crichton)
Cuttysarkus Estes, 1964 (fossil lizard)
Dalailama Staudinger, 1896 (moth from Tibet)
Darthvaderum Hunt, 1996 (mite)
Dawkinsia Pethiyagoda et al., 2012 (fish; after Richard Dawkins)
Dianfosseya and Janegoodallia Lehmann, 2014 (African moths)
Electrolux Compagno & Heemstra, 2007 (electric ray exhibiting "vigorous sucking action")
Elvisaurus Holmes, 1993 (dinosaur; not valid)
Excalibosaurus McGowan, 1986 (British ichthyosaur with a swordlike upper jaw)
Godzillius Yager, 1986 (remipede crustacean)
Graphorn Faúndez et al., 2017 and Thestral Faúndez & Rider, 2014 (stink bugs, after "Harry Potter" universe beasts)
Grendelius McGowan, 1976 (ichthyosaur; synonymized)
Gualicho Apesteguía et al., 2016 (dinosaur; after "Gualichu", a Mapuche demon)
Hildoceras Hyatt, 1867 (fossil ammonite; found in Britain, these fossils can sometimes be found with the free end carved into a snake's head, to honor the local Saxon legend claiming that St. Hilda had killed all the snakes in the region, making them all coil up, turn to stone, and fall into the sea)
Houdinia Hoare et al., 2006 (moth; distinctive for having the thinnest caterpillars ever found)
Ibyka Skog & Banks, 1973 (fossil plant; "from the poet Ibykos whose murder was revealed by cranes. This plant was only discovered because of quarrying operations [involving a different sort of crane] for the construction of Gilboa dam")
Ichabodcraniosaurus Novacek, 1996 (dinosaur; originally found without a head - a head was found later, but no one is sure whether it's the correct head)
Jaggermeryx Miller & Gunnell, 2014 (fossil mammal with enlarged lips; after Mick Jagger)
Kamabrachys Constant, 2023 (planthopper; after the "Kama Sutra", because of the bizarrely contorted mating posture of these insects)
Kaytouesso Carvajal et al., 2018 (giant shield bug; after "Rogue One" droid K2-SO)
Kuckuckia Hollenberg, 1971 (brown alga)
Laputa Whitley, 1930 (fish; after literary castle in the clouds)
Laputavis Dyke, 2001 (fossil bird; as above)
Lemmysuchus Johnson et al., 2017 (fossil crocodilian; after Lemmy of the band Motörhead)
Loureedia Henriques, 2012 (velvet spider that lives underground; named after Velvet Underground lead singer)
Mandelia (South African sea slug; named for Nelson Mandela)
Mashimaro Kim & Heraty, 2012 (parasitic wasp; after Korean cartoon character whose name is intended to sound like "marshmallow")
Merlinia Fortey & Owens 1978 (trilobite)
Mestoronema Wagner, 1999 (fossil snail; after the evil snail king in a "Dr. Who" episode)
Milesdavis Lieberman, 1994 (trilobite)
Montypythonoides Smith & Plane, 1985 (fossil snake)
Morlockia Garcia-Valdecasas, 1984 (cave-dwelling crustacean; after the Morlocks, the cave-dwelling race in H.G. Well's "The Time Machine")
Muffinbuccinum and Spikebuccinum Harasewych & Kantor, 2004 (snails, after the authors' cats Muffin and Spike)
Nabokovia Hemming, 1960 (butterfly in group that Nabokov studied)
Ninjemys Gaffney, 1992 (giant fossil turtle; named after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Obamadon Longrich et al., 2012 (fossil lizard with nice teeth)
Orsonwelles Hormiga 2002 (spider)
Perugina Dietrich & Dmitriev, 2006 (leafhopper; someone likes chocolate!)
Pleomothra Yager, 1989 (remipede crustacean; related to Godzillius)
Qantassaurus Rich & Vickers-Rich, 1999 (dinosaur; after Qantas Airlines)
Reginaia Campbell & Lydeard, 2012 (black pearly mussel; mussels are commonly called pigtoes, the freshwater pearly mussels are often called naiads. "The genus is a conflation of Regina, alluding to the Empress of Blandings, a black pig much chronicled by P. G. Wodehouse, and naia, and the sequence of the name puts the swine before the pearls.")
Samrukia Naish et al., 2011 (fossil Kazakh bird; after the Samruk, a magical bird of Kazakh folklore)
Shrekin Britto & Navia, 2007 (fruit mite; they have tubercles that resemble the character Shrek's ears)
Simurghia Longrich et al., 2018 (Moroccan pterosaur; after the Simurgh, a flying beast from Persian mythology)
Sinatra Buffington, 2011 (wasp from the Pacific Islands)
Sterculia Laporte, 1835 and Sterculia Linnaeus (rove beetle, and plant; after the Roman god of manure)
Stormtropis Perafán, Galvis & Pérez-Miles, 2019 (spider; after "Star Wars" stormtroopers)
Targaryendraco Pegas, Holgado & Leal, 2019 (pterosaur; after the "House of Dragons" in "song of Fire and Ice" novels)
Tobleronius Fernandez-Triana (braconid wasp; after the chocolate bar brand)
TubbiaWhitley, 1943 (fish)
Vaderscincus Wells & Wellington (skink)
Vunicothoe Boyko, 2009 (copepod, related to the genus Nicothoe; "VU" stands for Velvet Underground, and also plays on the album "The Velvet Underground and Nico")
Wodyetia Irvine, 1978 (foxtail palm; after Wodyeti, last aboriginal to live in the Melville Range area in Queensland, Australia, who brought this plant to botanical attention)
Xenomorphon Ferreira et al., 2023 (wingless beetle; named for its resemblance to the "xenomorph" in the "Alien" franchise of films)
Zappa Murdy, 1989 (goby)

Then there's a large set of honorifics, both at species and genus ranks, for characters and creatures from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth books, as well as Tolkien himself:

Abavorana nazgul Quah et al., 2017 (frog)
Acledra nazgul Faundez, et al. 2016 (stink bug)
Ancalagon Conway Morris, 1977 (fossil priapulid)
Anisonchus eowynae Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal; synonym of A. athelas Van Valen, 1978)
Ankalagon Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal; had to change spelling since name was already used)
Ansonia smeagol Davies et al., 2016 (the "Precious stream toad")
Asthenodipsas lasgalenensis Loredo et al., 2013 (snake)
Balinella, Bomburiella, Gloinella, and Oinella Fosshagen et al., 2001 (crustaceans)
Balinia Hedqvist, 1978 (eulophid wasp; synonymized)
Balrogia Hedqvist, 1977 (pteromalid wasp)
Balroglanis and Duringlanis Grant, 2015 (catfish; in Greek, glanis = a catfish)
Beorn Cooper, 1964 (fossil tardigrade)
Beornia Hedqvist, 1975 (eulophid wasp)
Bofuria Hedqvist, 1978 (pteromalid wasp)
Bomburia Hedqvist, 1978 (pteromalid wasp), also Bomburia, Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal)
Bubogonia bombadili and Protoselene bombadili, Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammals)
Claenodon mumak Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal)
Cristaphyes dordaidelosensis, C. glaurung, C. scatha and Pycnophyes ancalagon Sorensen & Grzelak, 2018 (mud dragons; after dragons and the land of cold in the Silmarillion)
Deltatherium durini Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal)
Desmia mordor Landry & Solis, 2016 (moth)
Durinia Hedqvist, 1978 (eulophid wasp; synonymized)
also Durinia Robison, 1988 (trilobite)
Dvalinia Hedqvist, 1977 (pteromalid wasp)
Earendil Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal)
Elachista gildorella Kaila, 1999 (and other species in the same genus of moths, all after various elves; "similar to Elves in that they are inconspicuous and have spread to the western hemisphere")
Entia Hedqvist, 1974 (eulophid wasp; synonymized)
Fimbrethil ambaronae Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal; synonymized)
Frodoichthys and Gimlichthys Sun et al., 2016 (very small fossil fish)
Frodospira Wagner, 1999 (fossil gastropod)
Gabrius tolkieni Schillhammer, 1997 (rove beetle)
Galaxias gollumoides (swamp-dwelling fish with large eyes)
Gandalfia Willems et al., 2005 (flatworm)
Gandalfus McLay, 2007 (crab that lives in undersea volcanic vents)
Gildoria Hedqvist (braconid wasp)
Gimlia Hedqvist, 1978 (eulophid wasp; synonymized)
Gollum Compagno, 1973 (shark)
Gollumia Riedel, 1988 (tiny terrestrial snail)
Gollumiella Hedqvist, 1978 (eucharitid wasp)
Gollumjapyx smeagol Sendra & Ortuno, 2006 (Spanish japygid)
Gollumudes Bamber, 2000 (crustacean)
Goniurosaurus gollum Qi et al. 2020 (cave-dwelling gecko)
Gwaihiria Naumann (diapriid wasp)
Iandumoema smeagol Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2015 (blind cave harvestman)
Ingerophrynus gollum Grismer, 2007 (toad)
Khamul gothmogi Gates, 2008 (eurytomid wasp; genus is after the one named Nazgul, epithet after the one named Balrog)
Lagynochthonius mordor Harvey, 1989 (cave-inhabiting pseudoscorpion)
Legolasia Hedqvist, 1974 (pteromalid wasp; synonymized)
Leucothoe tolkieni Vinogradov, 1990 (amphipod)
Macropsis sauroni Hamilton, 1972 (leafhopper)
Macrostyphlus frodo and M. gandalf Morrone, 1994 (Andean weevils)
Martesia tolkieni Kennedy, 1975 (burrowing clam)
Mimatuta morgoth Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal)
Mithrandir Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal)
Nazgulia Hedqvist, 1973 (pteromalid wasp)
Niphredil radagasti Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal; now in genus Paleotomus)
Odontia bagginsi de Gier & Fransen, 2018 (shrimp)
Oinia Hedqvist, 1978 (eulophid wasp; synonymized)
Orodruina Shishkin, 2021 (amoebozoan)
Osteoborus orc Webb, 1969 (fossil canid)
Oxyprimus galadrielae Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal)
Pericompsus bilbo Erwin, 1982 (beetle with big, hairy feet)
Planois smaug Carvajal et al., 2015 (shield bug described from specimen "sleeping" in museum for 60 years)
Platymastus palantir Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal)
Psylla frodobagginsi Martoni, 2019 (plant louse)
Sauron Eskov, 1995 (spider; appropriately, from Mt. Saur in Kazakhstan)
Saurona Huertas & Willmott, 2023 (butterfly with prominent eyespots on wings)
Sauroniops Cau et al., 2012 (dinosaur; name translates to "Eye of Sauron", known from a single bone from above the eye socket, much as Sauron was manifest only as a single lidless eye)
Shireplitis bilboi, S. frodoi, S. meriadoci, S. peregrini, S. samwisei, and S. tolkieni Fernandez-Triana & Ward, 2013 (braconid wasps from New Zealand)
Smaug Stanley et al., 2011 (South African lizard)
Smeagol Climo, 1980 (gastropod; type genus of the family Smeagolidae)
Smeagolia Hedqvist, 1973 (pteromalid wasp; synonymized)
Syconycteris hobbit Ziegler, 1982 (blossom bat with hairy feet)
Tamolia ancalagon Carvajal et al., 2015 (giant black shield bug)
Tetramorium nazgul and T. smaug Hita Garcia & Fisher, 2012 (ants)
Thangorodrim thalion Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal; now in genus Oxyclaenus)
Tinuviel Van Valen, 1978 (fossil mammal)

And, as proof that Sir David Attenborough is almost as popular among nerds as Tolkien:

Acisoma attenboroughi Mens et al., 2016 (dragonfly)
Attenborites Droser et al., 2019 (Ediacaran fossil)
Attenborosaurus Bakker, 1993 (plesiosaur)
Attenborougharion Hyman & Köhler, 2017 (snail)
Blakea attenboroughi Penneys & Jost, 2009 (Ecuadorian flower)
Cascolus ravitis Siveter et al., 2017 (fossil crustacean; in a feat of convoluted scholarship, the name honors Sir David as follows: "Latin castrum "stronghold" and colus "dwelling in"; alluding to the Middle/Old English source for the surname Attenborough, derived from atten "at the" and burgh "a fortified place." Latin Ratae, the Roman name for Leicester (where Sir David went to school), vita "life" and commeatis "a messenger")
Cavisternum attenboroughi Baehr et al., 2013 (spider)
Cichlidogyrus attenboroughi Kmentova, et al. 2016 (parasitic flatworm)
Ctenocheloides attenboroughi Anker, 2010 (ghost shrimp)
Diversinitus attenboroughi Haas et al., 2018 (fossil wasp)
Electrotettix attenboroughi Heads et al., 2010 (fossil grasshopper)
Epeolus attenboroughi Onuferko, 2018 (cuckoo bee)
Euptychia attenboroughi Neild et al., 2015 (butterfly)
Hieracium attenboroughianum Rich, 2018 (hawkweed)
Materpiscis attenboroughi Long et al., 2008 (fish; the type specimen was preserved giving birth, and the genus name means "mother fish"; David Attenborough drew attention to the site where the fossil was later found on his "Life on Earth" series)
Mesosticta davidattenboroughi Zheng et al., 2017 (fossil damselfly)
Microleo attenboroughi Gillespie et al., 2016 (fossil marsupial "lion")
Myotis attenboroughi Moratelli et al., 2017 (bat)
Nepenthes attenboroughii Robs et al., 2009 (pitcher plant)
Palaina attenboroughi Greke, 2017 (snail)
Platysaurus attenboroughi Whiting et al., 2015 (flat lizard)
Polioptila attenboroughi Whittaker et al., 2013 (gnatcatcher)
Prethopalpus attenboroughi Baehr & Harvey, 2012 (spider)
Pristimantis attenboroughi Lehr & von May, 2017 (rubber frog)
Sirdavidia Couvreur & Sauquet, 2015 (Gabonese flower)
Sitana attenboroughii Sadasivan et al., 2018 (fan-throated lizard)
Spintharus davidattenboroughi Agnarsson & Van Patten, 2018 (spider)
Sylvicanthon attenboroughi Cupello & Vaz-de-Mello, 2018 (dung beetle)
Syracosphaera azureaplaneta Young et al., 2018 (plankton; after the "Blue Planet" series narrated by Sir David)
Trigonopterus attenboroughi Riedel, 2014 (weevil)
Zaglossus attenboroughi Flannery & Groves, 1998 (presumed extinct echidna)

Abra cadabra Eames & Wilkins, 1957 (bivalve; now in genus Theora, but "Theora cadabra" just doesn't have the same ring)
Adetomyrma goblin Yoshimura & Fisher, 2012 (ant that drinks the "blood" of its own larvae)
Adonnadonna primadonna (siliceous microfossil; after a 60's pop song by Dionne & The Belmonts)
Agra blumax Erwin, 1983 (carabid beetle; pronounced "Blue Max")
Agra cadabra, Agra dable, Agra dation, Agra phite, Agra vate, Agra vation Erwin (carabid beetles)
Agra conhormigas Erwin, 2000 (carabid beetle; means "with ants" in Spanish)
Agra mime Erwin, 2000 (carabid beetle; looks like a different type of beetle)
Aha ha Menke, 1977 (wasp)
Amblyoproctus boondocksius Ratcliffe (scarab beetle from the middle of nowhere)
Apopyllus now Platnick & Shadab, 1984 (spider)
Axinota kyphosis and Tigrisomyia scoliosis Kirk-Spriggs, 2010 (hunchbacked flies)
Ba humbugi Solem, 1976 (snail from Mba Island)
Bicingulatus ninjabearus Maxwell, 2019 (a published-as-real but fictitious "scientific" name for the equally fictitious Australian "Drop Bear")
Bombylius aureocookae Evenhuis, 1984 (bee fly; pronounced "Oreo cookie")
Brahmina hindu Keith, 2006 (scarab beetle)
Carmenelectra shechisme Evenhuis, 2002 and Carmenelectra shehuggme Evenhuis, 2013 (fossil bee flies; he wishes!)
Castnia inca dinkadu Miller, 1972 (moth; Jimmy Durante reference)
Cataulacus pompom Snelling, 1979 (ant)
Cedusa yowza Kramer, 1986 (bug)
Cephise nuspesez Burns (skipper; pronounced "new species")
Chaos chaos Linnaeus, 1767 (amoeba)
Charis ma and Charis matic Harvey & Hall, 2002 (butterflies; sometimes in genus Detritivora)
Chilicola curvapeligrosa Monckton, 2016 (bee)
Chrysops asbestos and C. balzaphire Philip (horseflies)
Clambus armadillo (De Geer, 1774) (beetle that rolls into a ball)
Clevosaurus sectumsemper Klein et al., 2015 (fossil lizard; after Severus Snape's "Sectumsempra" spell in the Harry Potter novels)
Clistopyga caramba Castillo & Sääksjärvi 2015 (parasitic wasp whose abdomen is shaped like the front end of an ant)
Cnemaspis psychedelica Grismer et al., 2010 (nicely colored Vietnamese gecko)
Colon forceps Hatch, 1957 (leoidid beetle; genus includes species such as Colon rectum, Colon monstrosum, Colon grossum, Colon horni, and other suggestive combinations)
Cyanea kuhihewa Lammers, 1996 (Hawaiian bellflower; the Hawaiian verb kuhihewa means "to make an error of judgment, to mistake someone for someone else, to not recognize someone when you first see him" - the species was at first thought by its collectors to be a rediscovery of a presumably extinct species, but only on closer study was it determined to be a new species)
Cyclocephala nodanotherwon Ratcliffe (scarab beetle)
Desulforudis audaxviator Chivian et al., 2008 (bacterium from deep underground in South African gold mine; after a quotation in Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth")
Didemnum gintonicum Eldredge, 1966 (tunicate; named after the author's favorite drink)
Diplocraterion yoyo (trace fossil that loops up and down)
Discodes cowboy Sugonjaev, 1989 (encyrtid wasp)
Dissup irae Kovalev, 1989 (a "difficult to see" fossil fly)
Dziwneono etcetera Dworakowska, 1972 (leafhopper; in addition to the unusual epithet, the generic name means "It is strange" in Polish)
Enema pan Fabricius, 1775 (rhinoceros beetle)
Erythroneura ix Myers (leafhopper; now synonymized - it was his 9th species of Erythroneura)
Eophileurus tetraspermexitus Ratcliffe (scarab beetle with cross-like male genital opening)
Eubetia bigaulae Brown (tortricid moth; pronounced "yubetcha bygolly")
Eubetia boop Brown (tortricid moth)
Euglossa bazinga Nemésio & Ferrari, 2012 (orchid bee, after the TV character Sheldon Cooper's catchphrase)
Extra extra Jousseaume, 1894 (snail; a somewhat gray literature publication on the taxon was titled "Extra extra: Read All About It!")
Cosmocomopsis flopsis and C. mopsis Huber, 2015 (mymarid wasps; after "Beatrix Potter" rabbits)
Gelae baen, Gelae belae, Gelae donut, Gelae fish, Gelae rol Miller & Wheeler, 2004 (fungus beetles)
Habeas corpus Simone, 2013 (cave snail)
Hakuna matata Gumovsky & Boucek, 2006 (eulophid wasp)
Heerz lukenatcha and Heerz tooya Marsh, 1993 (braconid wasps)
Hemerotrecha kaboomi Brookhart & Cushing, 2008 (camel spider; described from the old atomic testing grounds in Nevada)
Helobdella nununununojensis Siddall 2001 (leech; from Nununununoj, a Quechua placename, "The Place of Very Bare Breasts", from Nunu meaning nipple)
Holorusia brobdingnagius (world's largest crane fly; after the Brobdingnags, the giants in "Gulliver's Travels")
Hortipes terminator Bosselaers & Jocque, 2000 (spider; male palpi resemble a "futuristic gun")
Hyppa potamus Troubridge & Lafontaine, 2004 (moth)
Indri indri (lemur; according to some sources, "indry" is Malagasy for "There it is!")
Ins pectorcolumbo, Ins zanouts Evenhuis, 2020, plus new combination, Ins ignea (Macquart) (bee flies)
Iridomyrmex bigi Shattuck, 1993 (ant; pronounced "big eye", the name "refers to the big eyes found in this species")
Kamera lens Woodcock, 1917 (protist)
Kikimora palustris Eskov, 1988 (spider; "Kikimora" is a dangerous female spirit in Slavic mythology who lives in marshes, and "palustris" means "of a marsh")
La cerveza Landry (pyralid moth)
La cucaracha and La paloma Blezynski, 1966 (pyralid moths)
Lalapa lusa Pate, 1946 (tiphiid wasp)
Lasioglossum izawsum Gibbs, 2011 (cleptoparasitic sweat bee; pronounced as "is awesome")
Lycaena fascista Turati, 1927 (butterfly; synonymized)
Major minor (Parent, 1938) (fly; genus name was coined by Evenhuis in 2005)
Mama mariae Belokobylskij, 2000 (braconid wasp; "Mother Mary")
Mini ature, Mini mum, and Mini scule Scherz et al., 2019 (extremely tiny frogs from Madagascar)
Mucha tzokotucha Ozerov, 1992 (fly; after a fly character in a Russian folktale: "mucha" means "fly", and "tzokotucha" is the character's nickname for himself)
Myzocallis kahawaluokalani Kirkaldy, 1907 (aphid; in Hawaiian, the name supposedly means "you fish on your side of the lagoon, I'll fish on the other, and no one will fish in the middle")
Oedipus complex (salamander; now in genus Oedipina)
Oedipus rex (salamander)
Ohmyia omya Thompson, 1999 (syrphid fly)
Panama canalia Marsh, 1993 (braconid wasp)
Perla misnoma Claassen 1936 (stonefly)
Phthiria relativitae Evenhuis, 1985 (bee fly; now in genus Oligodranes)
Pieza deresistans, Pieza kake, Pieza pi, Pieza rhea Evenhuis, 2002 (bee flies)
Pison eu and Pison eyvae Menke, 1988 (wasps)
Pleurotaenium bumerangium (boomerang-shaped single-celled alga)
Polypodium barometz Linnaeus (woolly fern; the barometz, or Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, was a fictional plant whose fruit grew into sheep which, while connected to the plant by an umbilical cord, grazed the area around it. Rhizomes growing up from a woolly common base of the actual fern can form the shape of an inverted lamb)
Preseucoela imallshookupis Buffington, 2004 (wasp; genus and epithet honoring Elvis)
Pseudatrichia atombomba Kelsey, 1969 (window fly; described from Alamogordo, New Mexico)
Pseudoleptochelia anorexia Bird & Bamber 2000 (crustacean with "slender morphology")
Qrocodiledundee outbackense Fernandez-Triana & Boudreault 2018 (braconid wasp)
Reissa roni Evenhuis & Baez, 2001 (bee fly)
Riga toni Evenhuis 2013 (bee fly)
Selenochlamys ysbryda Rowson & Symondson, 2008 (Welsh ghost slug; from the Welsh "ysbryd", meaning ghost or spirit, referring to the fact that it is rarely seen, is white in color, and is nocturnal)
Smok wawelski Niedzwiedzki, Sulej & Dzik, 2011 (dinosaur; after Smok wawelski, "the dragon of Wawel Hill", a famous dragon in Polish folklore)
Strategus longichomperus Ratcliffe (scarab beetle with long mandibles)
Strotarchus beepbeep Bonaldo, Saturnino, Ram’rez & Brescovit, 2012 (spider; after the sound of the cartoon "road runner")
Tabanus nippontucki Philip, 1942 (horsefly; described during the bombing of Pearl Harbor)
Tabanus rhizonshine Philip, 1954 (horsefly)
Tachysphex picnic van Ooijen, 1987 (predatory wasp)
Taiwonon phormae Evenhuis, 2018 (bee fly from Taiwan)
Sphictostethus picadillycircus Krogmann & Austin, 2011 (spider wasp)
Stentorceps vuvuzela Nielsen & Buffington, 2011 (Figitid wasp with horn on its head resembling the infamous "musical" instrument)
Trichogramma itsybitsi Pinto & Stouthamer, 2002 (tiny parasitic wasp)
Trombicula doremi and Trombicula fasolla Brennan & Beck, 1955 (chiggers)
Tyrannasorus rex Ratcliffe & Ocampo 2001 (scarab beetle)
Tyrannochthonius rex Harvey, 1989 (cave-inhabiting pseudoscorpion)
Umma gumma Dijkstra, Mézière & Kipping, 2015 (damselfly; after Pink Floyd album)
Verae peculya Marsh, 1993 (braconid wasp)
Victoria regina (water lily)
Villa manillae Evenhuis, 1993 (bee fly)
Vini vidivici Steadman & Zarriello, 1987 (a recently extinct parrot)
Wuria boutit Harvey, 1989 (water mite)
Ytu brutus Spangler, 1980 (beetle)

Afropolonia tgifi Goff, 1983 (chigger)
Agra bci, A. biolat, A. catie, A. inbio and A. inpa Erwin (carabid beetles; acronyms for "Barro Colorado Island", "Biodiversity in Latin America", "Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza", "Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad", "Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia")
Ascothorax sosci Grygier, 1983 (parasitic crustacean; after the Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center)
Atalodera ucri Wouts & Sher, 1971 and Gonatocerus ucri Triapitsyn, 2013 (nematode, and mymarid wasp; acronym for University of California, Riverside)
Baileya ellessyoo Brou, 2004 (moth; named for Louisiana State University - LSU)
Botryocladius grapeth Cranston & Edward, 1999 (midge; after a provisional morphotaxon name, "grape t.h." which stood for "grape-shaped thoracic horn" in manuscripts prior to the naming of the species; so many collections had specimens labeled "grape t.h." that people asked the authors to formalize the provisional name so they could leave their database records intact!)
Botryocladius mdfrc Cranston & Edward, 1999 (midge; named for the Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre)
Dendrogaster usarporum Grygier, 1987 (parasitic crustacean; after the United States Antarctic Research Program)
Drinker nisti Bakker (dinosaur; acronym for National Institute of Standards and Technology)
Glyptospira arelela Plas, 1972 (fossil snail; epithet is a phonetic version of the initials of Plas' colleague R.L. Langenheim, Jr.)
Gracilomyia wit Grimaldi, 2016 (fossil fly; epithet is an acronym for "What is this?")
Heterodera mani (nematode; acronym for Ministry of Agriculture, Northern Ireland)
Lasioglossum gattaca Danforth & Wcislo (sweat bee; named after part of its DNA base sequence, GATTACA)
Meloidogyne naasi (nematode; acronym for National Agricultural Advisory Service)
Natalichthys ori Winterbottom, 1980 (fish; genus name is "fish from Natal", epithet is acronym for Oceanographic Research Institute of Durban, South Africa)
Natalichthys sam Winterbottom, 1980 (fish; acronym for South African Museum, where the specimen was found)
Physalaemus enesefae Heatwole, Solano, & Heatwole, 1965 (frog; named after National Science Foundation)
Thomasomys apeco Leo & Gardner, 1993 (mouse; acronym for Asociacion Peruana para la Conservacion de la Naturaleza)
Tianchisaurus nedegoapeferima Dong, 1993 (fragmentary ankylosaur fossil; the epithet is a quasi-acronym based on the names of people involved in "Jurassic Park" - NEil, DErn, GOldblum, Attenborough, PEck, FERrero, rIchards, and MAzzello)
Trichogramma esalqueanum Querino & Zucchi 2003 (wasp; acronym for Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" - where the authors work)
Trombicula fujigmo Philip & Tucker, 1950 (chigger; ask any WWII U.S. veteran what "fujigmo" stands for)
Verma ansp Boehlke, 1968 (eel; named for the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia)

Agathidium akallebregma Miller & Wheeler 2005 (mold beetle; name can be translated as "ugly face")
Alysicarpus vaginalis (plant)
Amorphophallus titanum (giant aroid, the world's largest flower; other suggestively-named species in the same genus include impressus, elegans, pygmaeus, maximus, minor, gigas, odoratus, pendulus, rugosus, etc.)
Angelica archangelica Schrank, 1818 (umbellifer; synonymized)
Arca noae (clam; means Noah's Ark)
Archaeoteleia astropulvis Talamas, 2017 (fossil wasp; name translates to "star dust", in honor of David Bowie)
Argonauta argo (paper nautilus)
Ascolepis erythrocephala Hooper, 1983 (red-flowered sedge; epithet means "red head" and also honors the discoverer Edgar Milne-Redhead)
Attalea vitrivir Zona (palm; "vitri" = glass and "vir" = man, honoring palm specialist Sydney Glassman, since the name "glassmanii" was already taken)
Boselaphus tragocamelus Pallas (nilgai, an Indian antelope; translates to "ox-deer goat-camel")
Bothriomyrmex decapitans Santschi, 1920 (parasitic ant species whose queens allow themselves to be dragged into the nests of other ants, where they climb onto the acting queen and gnaw her head off, then taking her place)
Bothriomyrmex regicidus Santschi, 1919 (parasitic ant species whose queens invade the nests of other ants and release a pheromone that provokes the workers into killing the real queen, so the parasite can take over)
Brachyanax thelestrephones Evenhuis, 1981 (fly; Greek for "little chief nipple twister")
Callicebus aureipalatii Wallace, 2005 (a titi monkey; "aureipalatii" meaning "of the Golden Palace", honoring the company that placed the high bid - US$650,000 - in a fund-raising auction for the Bolivian National Park in which the monkey was discovered)
Capparis cynophallophora (Jamaican caper)
Celmus michaelmus Adrain & Fortey, 1997 (trilobite whose abdominal apex looks like a Mouseketeer hat)
Cenaspis aenigma Campbell, Smith & Hall, 2018 (snake known from only one specimen, found inside the stomach of another snake; name translates as "mysterious dinner snake")
Ceraeochrysa michaelmuris Adams & Penny (lacewing whose abdominal apex looks like a Mouseketeer hat)
Chaetopterus pugaporcinus Osborn, 2007 (worm; epithet means "pig rump")
Chloridops regiskongi James & Olson, 1991 (large, extinct Hawaiian finch)
Clyster rectus Dechambre, 2002 (scarab beetle; a "clyster" is an enema - it is perhaps no coincidence that the Enema is a related scarab genus)
Confuciusornis sanctus Hou et al., 1995 (dinosaur; translates as "Holy Confucius' Bird")
Cremnops wiktopegasus Tucker et al., 2015 (wasp; named after Crazy Horse; "Witko means crazy in the Lakota language and a Pegasus is a winged horse")
Crepidula fornicata (slipper shell which forms stacks of individuals)
Cribrarula gravida Moretzsohn, 2002 (snail; gravida means pregnant in Portuguese, and the author's wife was pregnant at the time he discovered the species, whose shell is inflated, resembling a pregnant woman's womb - by coincidence, his wife found out she was pregnant again the same week the description was published)
Csiromedusa medeopolis (jellyfish; genus is for Australian research facility CSIRO, epithet is Greek for "city of gonads")
Cuterebra emasculator Fitch, 1856 (bot fly which consumes the host rodent's testes)
Cuterebra sterilator Lugger, 1897 (ditto)
Daptolestes bronteflavus, D. feminategus, and D. illusiolautus Robinson & Yeates, 2020 (robber flies; epithets obliquely refer to Marvel Comics characters, though the original publication did not include the explanations later provided by the scientists responsible; "bronteflavus" is intended to translate as "blond thunder", a reference to Thor; "feminategus" is intended to translate as "woman in leather", a reference to Black Widow; "illusiolautus" is intended to translate as "elegant deception", a reference to Loki)
Dicrotendipes thanatogratus Epler, 1987 (midge; epithet means "Grateful Dead")
Dracorex hogwartsia Bakker et al., 2006 (dinosaur; means "Dragon king of Hogwart's")
Equus hemionus (the Onager or Asiatic Wild Ass; "Hemionus" translates to "half-ass")
Eriogonum inflatum var. deflatum Johnston (buckwheat)
Eucritta melanolimnetes Clark, 1998 (fossil amphibian; translates as "true creature from the black lagoon")
Exetastes fornicator Fabricius, 1781 (ichneumon wasp)
Funkotriplogynium iagobadius Seeman & Walter, 1997 (mite; "Iago" = James and "badius" = brown)
Gargantuavis philoinis Buffetaut & Le Loeuff, 1998 (fossil flightless bird; translates to "wine-loving Gargantua bird" - after a bibulous giant in Rabelais' "Gargantua and Pantagruel")
Geoballus caputalbus Crabill, 1969 (millipede named after its collectors, George Ball and Donald Whitehead)
Glossus humanus (heart cockle, but name means "human tongue")
Gluteus minimus Davis & Semken, 1975 (Devonian fossil of uncertain affinities)
Gorgonocephalus medusae (basket star; "Gorgonocephalus" means "Gorgon-headed" - Medusa was one of the snake-haired Gorgons, whose head was cut off by Perseus)
Labia minor Linnaeus (earwig)
Lactarius nonfungus (a fish)
Lactarius nonpiscis (a fungus)
Macrocarpaea dies-viridis Grant, 2007 (gentian; after the band "Green Day")
Megaselia toxicobibitor Hash, 2014 (scuttle fly; "toxicobibitor" means "poison drinker"; these flies consume highly toxic defensive compounds produced by millipedes)
Metallichneumon neurospastarchus Wahl & Sime, 2002 (ichneumonid wasp; "neurospastarchus" means "Master of Puppets," an album by the band Metallica, but also refers to the larval wasp's manipulation of its insect host)
Mexicope sushara Bruce, 2004 (isopod; "The epithet combines the Latin words sus (pig) and hara (pen, coop or sty) and alludes to the ability of these preserved specimens to collect adherent detritus; referring to the character 'Pigpen' in the famous comic strip Peanuts, who gathered dirt no matter what")
Moira atropos (heart urchin; the Moirae are also known as the Three Fates: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos)
Monochamus titillator Fabricius (longhorned beetle)
Nessiteras rhombopteryx (meaningless "scientific" name coined for the mythical Loch Ness Monster - literally means "Rhomboid-finned Ness Monster", but is also an anagram for "Monster hoax by Sir Peter S" - referring to Sir Peter Scott, who helped coin the name!)
Ovula ovum (mollusc commonly called the Egg Shell)
Pelecanus occidentalis urinator Wetmore, 1945 (the Galapagos brown pelican)
Penicillus penis Linnaeus, 1758 (mollusc)
Penicillus vaginiferus Lamarck, 1818 (mollusc)
Phallus daemonicum and Phallus impudicus (Stinkhorn fungi)
Phallus drewesii Desjardin, 2009 (five-centimeter-long stinkhorn fungus; named, with permission, for herpetologist Robert Drewes, who - with very good humor - said "I am utterly delighted... The funny thing is that it is the second smallest known mushroom in this genus and it grows sideways, almost limp.")
Piseinotecus divae Er. Marcus, 1955 (gastropod; "Piseinotecus" means "I stepped on Teco" - Teco was a dog belonging to a woman named Diva, and one of the Marcuses stepped on the dog on the way to the kitchen in the middle of the night)
Pseudoleptochelia ebriosus Bamber & Bird, 1997 (crustacean with red eyes; species name derived from the Latin word for a drunkard)
Saguinus oedipus oedipus Linnaeus, 1758 (cotton-top tamarin; evidently, in this endangered species, male offspring display unhealthy attachments to their mothers, but this was only learned after the species was named)
Schoenesmahl dyspepsia Conrad, 2017 (Jurassic German lizard; the name translates as "beautiful meal that is difficult to digest" and was found as the fossilized gut contents of the dinosaur Compsognathus and was the animal's last meal)
Scrotum humanum Brookes, 1763 (the first dinosaur fossil ever given its own scientific name, but described before anyone had ever heard of dinosaurs, so the author thought it was the fossilized remains of a giant's genitals; today, this is known as Megalosaurus)
Smilax deineinephyto Chatzimanolis 2016 (rove beetle; the genus name Smilax is used for, and more well-known as, a plant, so this species name means "it's not a plant")
Spigelia genuflexa Popovkin & Struwe 2011 (Brazilian plant that bends down and plants its own seeds)
Tessmannianthus quadridomius Wurdack, 1989 (flower; after botanist Jose Cuatrecasas, "Cuatrecasas" ("four houses" in English) becomes "quadridomius" in Latin)
Turdus migratorius (robin; NOT a migrating turd)
Vaquerister cantador Caterino & Tishechkin, 2022 (hister beetle; in Spanish, the name roughly translates to "The Singing Cowboy Hister Beetle", so named because it has spurs on its feet and it can chirp)
Vampyroteuthis infernalis (deepsea squid; literally "Vampire Squid from Hell")
Venus mercenaria Linnaeus (clam; literally "Venus selling favors" but the name was derived from the use of this species as money - called "wampum" - by Native Americans; now placed in the genus Mercenaria)
Xenaroswelliana deltaquadrant Erwin, 2007 (bizarre carabid beetle; the genus name is intended to mean "alien visitor to Roswell", and the epithet refers to an unknown area of space in the "Voyager" series)
Zuul crurivastator Arbour & Evans, 2017 (dinosaur; crurivastator means "Destroyer of Shins", so named because it is believed this was how the tail club was used)

Abracadabrella birdsville Zabka, 1991 (jumping spider)
Alaptus ah & Alaptus oh Girault, 1930 (mymarid wasps)
Anu una Thompson, 2008 (syrphid fly; a palindrome)
Aphodius stupidus Horn, 1880 (dung beetle) also Darnis stupida Walker, 1851 (treehopper) and Bibio stupida Rossi, 1790 (bee fly)
Apionion humongum Kissinger, 1998 (weevil)
Apolysis crisis Evenhuis, 1990 (bee fly)
Awuka spazzola Marcus, 1955 (nudibranch; now in genus Jorunna)
Balbaroo fangaroo Cooke (a kangaroo with large fangs)
Bla nini Inglis, 1963 (marine nematode)
Brachinus aabaaba Erwin, 1970 (bombardier beetle)
Campsicnemus aa, C. ee, C. ii, C. oo, and C. uu Evenhuis, 2009 (dolichopodid flies)
Campsicnemus iii Evenhuis, 2011 (another dolichopodid fly)
Cavaticovelia aaa Gagné & Howarth, 1975 (bug; "aaa" is Hawaiian for lava tube)
Chrysops nigribimbo Whitney, 1879 (horse fly)
Colobopsis explodens Laciny et al., 2018 (ant whose workers burst their bodies to defend the colony)
Crex crex (corncrake)
Crinopseudoa bong and C. bongella Jocque & Bosselaers, 2011 (spiders)
Desmatomyia jambalaia Hall & Evenhuis, 1987 (fly)
Dicanticinta diticinctana (Walsingham, 1900) (moth; genus name coined to be anagram of species name)
Dives dives dives (Mexican grackle)
Dorcus titanus (stag beetle; a casual reading might suggest "Titanic Dork")
Doryctes fartus Provancher, 1880 (wasp)
Drepanovelia millennium Andersen & Weir 2001 (water strider)
Evylaeus fartus Vachal, 1904 (sweat bee)
Glis glis (dormouse)
Gonatocerus woohoo Triapitsyn, 2013 (mymarid wasp)
Gressittia titsadasyi Philip, 1980 (horse fly)
Horridonia horrida (fossil brachiopod)
Inglorius mediocris Austin, 1997 (skipper butterfly)
Kikiki huna Huber & Beardsley 2000 (the smallest known flying insect, a mymarid wasp; the genus name is Hawaiian for tiny bit and the specific epithet is another Hawaiian word also meaning tiny bit)
Lablab lablab (hyacinth bean; now Lablab purpureus)
Lagynodes ooii Dessart, 1982 (ceraphronid wasp)
Lepidotrigla jimjoebob Richards, 1992 (fish)
Lima lima (clam)
Liogenys gayanus Solier (scarab beetle)
Metrius explodens Bousquet & Goulet, 1990 (beetle which sometimes explodes and breaks into pieces, in self-defense)
Mops mops (mormoopid bat)
Nomada buyoo Tsuneki, 1976 (bee)
Oedipodrilus oedipus Holt (worm)
Orizabus botox Ratcliffe & Cave, 2006 ("wrinkle-free" scarab beetle)
Orizabus subaziro Ratcliffe (scarab beetle; palindrome)
Papagona papoosa Ball, 1935 (planthopper)
Psathyropus mysoreanus Roewer, 1954 (harvestman from Mysore, India)
Rabilimis mirabilis (Brady, 1868) (ostracod; genus name coined to be anagram of species name)
Rhyacophila tralala Schmid (caddisfly)
Saniba sabina (Plotz, 1882) (skipper; genus name coined to be anagram of species name)
Saurus soarus (a gliding lizard)
Sinclairocerus haha (fossil cephalopod)
Stigmella ridiculosa (the world's tiniest moth, with a wingspan of 2 mm)
Tabanus yuleanus Philip, 1950 (horse fly named after a memorable Christmas day in 1946)
Taumacera sucki Weise, 1922 (leaf beetle)
Tamoya ohboya Collins et al., 2011 (box jelly with a painful sting)
Upupa epops Linnaeus, 1758 (hoopoe bird; onomatopoeic)
Venada advena Mabille, 1889, plus V. daneva & V. nevada Burns, 2005 (skippers; all species names anagrams of genus name)
Wunderpus photogenicus Hochberg et al., 2006 (octopus; both wonderful and photogenic)
Xela alex Thompson, 1999 (syrphid fly; another palindrome - until the genus was recognized as a homonym, so it is now in the genus Cepa)

Cartwrightia cartwrighti Cartwright (scarab beetle; the only scientific name where the genus, species, and author names form a sequence using successive subtraction of the last letter to form the next word)
Gammaracanthuskytodermogammarus loricatobaicalensis Dybowski, 1926 (amphipod; at 50 characters, the longest zoological binomial, but suppressed)
Ia io Thomas, 1902 (chinese bat; tie for the shortest binomial, probably the only all-vowel binomial)
Myxococcus llanfairpwllgwyngyllerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochensis Chambers et al. 2020 (bacterium; the longest scientific name of any organism; Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is a place in the UK from which the soil sample with this bacterium originated)
Parastratiosphecomyia stratiosphecomyioides Brunetti, 1923 (soldier fly; the longest VALID zoological binomial name)
Plesiothrips o Girault (thrips)
Trevelyana kouaouae Risbec, 1928 (nudibranch; the longest string of vowels not including "y")
Yi qi Xu et al., 2015 (fossil winged dinosaur; tie for the shortest binomial, translates from Chinese as "strange wing")

Achelousaurus horneri Sampson, 1995 (a hornless ceratopsian dinosaur; the genus is named for Achelous, a Greek river god whose horn was broken in a battle with Heracles, and the species name is for paleontologist Jack Horner, and also - in a clever bit of wordplay - "replaces the lost horn")
Adelomyrmex vaderi Fernández, 2003 (ant)
Adelopsis dumbo Gnaspini & Peck, 2001 (beetle who genitalia resemble elephant ears)
Aegrotocatellus jaggeri and Perirehaedulus richardsi Adrain & Edgecombe, 1995 (trilobites; see above regarding Aegrotocatellus)
Agaporomorphus colberti Miller & Wheeler, 2008 (diving beetle; after Stephen Colbert)
Agathidium bushi, A. cheneyi, and A. rumsfeldi Miller & Wheeler, 2005 (slime-mold beetles)
Agathidium vaderi Miller & Wheeler, 2005 (slime-mold beetle; named for its "broad, shiny, helmetlike head")
Agra dax, A. eponine, and A. lilu Erwin, 2000 (carabid beetles; after fictional females: "Dax" from Deep Space Nine; the urchin in Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables"; "Lilu" in "The Fifth Element")
Agra catbellae, A. katewinsletae, A. liv, and A. schwarzeneggeri Erwin, 2002 (carabid beetles; after Catherine Bell, Kate Winslet, Liv Tyler, and Arnold Schwarzenegger)
Agra cobra, A. falcon, A. ichabod, A. othello, A. piranha, A. sasquatch, A. smurf, A. yeti, A. yoda, and A. yodella Erwin (carabid beetles)
Agra eowilsoni Erwin, 1998 (carabid beetle; after E.O. Wilson)
Agromyza princei Eiseman & Lonsdale, 2019 (leaf miner fly; named after Prince, because it lives on raspberry plants)
Alastor moody Selis, 2020 (potter wasp; named after a "Harry Potter" character)
Albunea groeningi Boyko, 2002 (mole crab; after "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening, "to honor his extensive promotion of crustacean issues in the popular media")
Albunione yoda Markham and Boyko 2003 (isopod with appendages resembling Yoda's ears)
Aleiodes gaga Butcher et al., 2012 (braconid wasp from Thailand; after performer Lady Gaga)
Aleiodes colberti, A. elleni, A. falloni, A. frosti, A. shakirae, A. stewarti, and A. tzantza Shimbori & Shaw, 2014 (braconid wasps; after Stephen Colbert, Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Fallon, poet Robert Frost, Shakira, Jon Stewart, and the Shuar word for the ritual of reducing heads by a mummification process)
Allometopon phenomena Lonsdale, 2016 (fly; after the movie "Phenomena" about a woman who can communicate with flies)
Alviniconcha strummeri Johnson et al., 2015 (deep-sea snail; after punk rocker Joe Strummer of the Clash - particularly because the snails are covered in spiky hair and are "hardcore" - "they inhabit the hottest, most acidic and most sulphidic microhabitats at Indo-Pacific hydrothermal vents")
Amaurotoma zappa and Anomphalus jaggerius Plas, 1972 (fossil snails; after Frank Zappa and Mick Jagger)
Amblyrhynchus cristatus godzilla Miralles et al., 2017 (marine iguana)
Amphinema rollinsi Widmer, 2007 (jellyfish; after musician Henry Rollins)
Ampulex dementor Ohl, 2014 (wasp that parasitizes roaches after stinging their brains to rob them of volition; after "Harry Potter" monsters called "Dementors" - the name was selected by public visitors to a special museum event)
Anacroneuria carole and A. taylori Stark, 2004 (stoneflies; after Carole King and James Taylor, respectively)
Anatoma tobeyoides Geiger & Jansen, 2004 (snail; after American abstract expressionist Mark Tobey, because the sculpture of the snail shell is reminiscent of his work)
Anelosimus biglebowski, A. dude, and A. nelsoni Agnarsson, 2006 (South African spiders; after after a Coen brothers film and a character from that film, and Nelson Mandela)
Anhanguera spielbergi Veldmeijer, 2003 (fossil pterosaur; after Steven Spielberg)
Anillinus docwatsoni Sokolov & Carlton, 2004 (blind beetle from the North Carolina Appalachians; after Doc Watson, a blind musician from the North Carolina Appalachians)
Anophthalmus hitleri (blind cave beetle; endangered, mostly by collectors of Hitler memorabilia)
Aphis mizzou Lagos et al., 2012 (aphid known only from the campus of the University of Missouri)
Aphonopelma johnnycashi Hamilton, 2016 (a tarantula from near Folsom Prison)
Apolysis humbugi Evenhuis, 1985 (fly from Humbug Creek)
Apseudes atuini, Bathytanais greebo, and Tanaella dongo Bamber, 2005 (crustaceans named after "Discworld" characters)
Aptostichus angelinajolieae and A. stephencolberti Bond, 2008 (trapdoor spiders)
Aptostichus barackobamai, A. bonoi, A. chavezi, A. dorothealangeae, A. edwardabbeyi, A. killerdana, A. muiri, A. pennjillettei, A. sarlacc, and A. sinnombre Bond, 2012 (trapdoor spiders, honoring - respectively - a president, a singer, a civil rights leader, a photojournalist, an environmentalist, a surfing spot, a naturalist, a comedian/skeptic, a fictional monster that lives underground, and no name at all)
Arachnanthus lilith Stampar et al., 2018 (tube anemone; for the Middle Eastern, sexually wanton, baby stealing demon Lilith)
Arcticalymene viciousi, A. rotteni, A. jonesi, A. cooki, A. matlocki Adrain & Edgecombe, 1997 (trilobites; for the uninitiated, the Sex Pistols)
Arthurdactylus conandoylei Frey & Martill, 1994 (Brazilian fossil pterosaur)
Atlascopcosaurus loadsi Rich & Vickers-Rich, 1989 (dinosaur; after the company, Atlas Copco, that provided excavation equipment used to obtain the fossils, and the company manager who assisted them, William Loads)
Avahi cleesei Thalmann & Geissmann, 2005 (lemur; after John Cleese, a known lemur aficionado)
Avalanchurus lennoni, A. starri, and Struszia mccartneyi Edgecombe & Chatterton, 1993 (trilobites)
Avalanchurus simoni and A. garfunkeli Adrain & Edgecombe, 1997 (trilobites)
Baeturia laureli and B. hardyi De Boer, 1986 (cicadas)
Bagheera kiplingi Peckham & Peckham, 1986 (jumping spider; after Rudyard Kipling)
Baracktrema obamai Roberts et al., 2016 (blood fluke)
Barbaturex morrisoni Head et al., 2013 (giant fossil lizard; genus name means "bearded king" - after "The Doors" lead singer Jim Morrison, who proclaimed himself "The Lizard King")
Baru darrowi Willis, Murray, & Megirian, 1990 (fossil crocodile; genus after aboriginal name for crocodile, epithet after actor Paul Darrow)
Batmanacarus robini Bassini-Silva et al, 2021 (chigger from a ghost-faced bat species; the genus name translates to "batman mite", in reference to the "Bat-Mite" character)
Bidenichthys beeblebroxi Paulin, 1995 (a triplefin blenny fish with false head; after Zaphod Beeblebrox, character from "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" with two heads)
Binburrum articuno, B. moltres, and B. zapdos Hsiao & Pollock, 2020 (beetles; after "Pokemon" creatures)
Bobkabata kabatabobbus Hogans & Benz, 1990 (parasitic copepod named after Bob Kabata)
Brachypanorpa sacajawea Byers, 1990 (scorpionfly)
Bufonaria borisbeckeri Parth, 1996 (sea snail; rumors that Boris Becker PAID to have it named after him are untrue)
Bugula bowiei Vieira et al., 2012 (bryozoan)
Bumba lennoni Pérez-Miles et al., 2014 (tarantula; after John Lennon)
Bushiella beatlesi Rzhavsky, 1993 (annelid)
Caloplaca obamae Knudsen, 2009 (lichen; after Barack Obama)
Calponia harrisonfordi Platnick (spider)
Calycopis garylarsoni Johnson (butterfly)
Campsicnemus charliechaplini Evenhuis, 1996 (dolichopodid fly; named "because of the curious tendency of this fly to die with its midlegs in a bandy-legged position")
Campsicnemus uncleremus Evenhuis, 2000 (another dolichopodid fly)
Captaincookia margaretae Halle (Rubiaceae from New Caledonia)
Carukia barnesi (Australian jellyfish; named for the doctor who, upon discovering this species and wishing to determine if it were responsible for a local medical syndrome affecting swimmers, allowed it to sting himself, his son, and a volunteer - all of whom spent hours in agony as a result, confirming the hypothesis)
Cedrorestes crichtoni Gilpin et al., 2007 (dinosaur; after "Jurassic Park" author Michael Crichton)
Cherax snowden Lukhaup et al., 2015 (crayfish named for CIA employee/whistleblower Edward Snowden)
Chilicola charizard Monckton, 2016 (bee; after a "pokemon")
Chiromantes garfunkel Davie & Ng, 2013 (bright-eyed crab from Christmas Islands; named for Art Garfunkel's song "Bright eyes")
Chlerogella cyranoi, C. pinocchio, and C. tychoi Engel, 2010 (bees with unusual "noses")
Chupacabrachelys complexus Lehman & Wick, 2010 (fossil turtle; its skull resembles a mangy coyote believed to be responsible for chupacabra sightings, and the epithet refers to "The Complex" tour of the Blue Man Group, which entertained the authors during their work)
Cirolana mercuryi Bruce, 2004 (isopod; after Freddie Mercury)
Colletes gandhi Kuhlmann, 2003 (bee)
Conus tribblei (cone snail; named for a cat called "Tribbles" who had been named for Star Trek's furry, prolific "tribbles")
Coptoborus brigman, C. furiosa, C. hansen, C. janeway, C. katniss, C. leeloo, C. leia, C. newt, C. ripley, C. sarahconnor, C. scully, C. starbuck, C. trinity, C. uhura, C. vasquez, C. vrataski, and C. yar Smith & Cognato, 2021 (bark beetles; all names of heroines from fantasy and science fiction)
Cosmobunus sagani Palencia et al., 2019 (fossil harvestman; named after Carl Sagan, who produced the "Cosmos" TV series)
Cremnops wileycoyotius Tucker et al., 2015 (wasp; named after the collector [J. Wiley], but also the cartoon character)
Crikey steveirwini Stanisic, 2009 (an Australian snail)
Cryptocercus garciai Burnside, Smith, & Kambhampati, 1998 (wood roach; after Jerry Garcia)
Cuspicephalus scarfi Martill & Etches, 2011 (pointy-nosed pterosaur, as the genus name implies; epithet after Gerald Scarfe, whose caricatures often have pointy noses)
Cyanea pohaku Lammers, 1988 (Hawaiian bellflower; "pohaku" is Hawaiian for "rock", which botanist Joseph Rock, who discovered this plant, had adopted as a sobriquet)
Cyclocepahala casanova Ratcliffe & Cave, 2009 (scarab beetle with prominent heart-shaped marking)
Cyclocephala freudi Endrödi, 1963 (scarab beetle)
Cyclocephala rorschachoides Ratcliffe (scarab beetle with an amorphous black blob marking)
Cypraea isabella Linnaeus (snail, "Isabella's cowrie"; Linnaeus named this parchment colored, brown-streaked, cowrie after the color 'Isabella' which in turn was named for the soiled calico of Archduchess Isabella of Austria, who vowed not to change her underwear until her father, Philip II, won the siege of Ostend. The siege lasted 3 years!)
Cyranorogas depardieui Quicke and Butcher, 2015 (braconid wasp with a long "nose"; Gerard Depardieu famously portrayed Cyrano)
Cystomastacoides kiddo and C. nicolepeelerae Quicke et al., 2013 (braconid wasps; named after the "Kill Bill" protagonist and Quicke's favorite author, respectively)
Daenerys khaleesi Ryzhkova & Coram, 2016 (fossil shore bug; after "Game of Thrones" character)
Danionella dracula Britz (Burmese fish with bone "fangs")
Darwinilus sedarisi Chatzimanolis, 2014 (rove beetle collected by Charles Darwin, and dedicated to humorist David Sedaris)
Dasykaluta rosamondae Ride, 1964 (marsupial mouse with reddish fur, from a sheep farm called Woodstock Station, living in prickly bushes; named after King Henry II's red-headed mistress Rosamond, who was kept locked in the Royal Manor of Woodstock surrounded by a maze of prickly hedges)
Depressizona exorum Geiger, 2003 (snail; after the Dutch band "The Ex")
Desmodus draculae Morgan, Linares & Ray, 1988 (extinct South American vampire bat)
Desmopachria barackobamai Makhan, 2015 (water beetle)
Diamantinasaurus matildae Hocknull et al., 2009 (Australian dinosaur; after the folk song "Waltzing Matilda")
Diamphipnoa colberti Stark, 2008 (stonefly; after Stephen Colbert)
Diolchogaster ichiroi Fernandez-Triana, 2018 (parasitic wasp; after MLB baseball player Ichiro Suzuki)
Doronomyrmex pocahontas Buschinger, 1979 (ant)
Dracula diabola, D. nosferatu, and D. vampira Luer, 1978 (orchids)
Draculoides bramstokeri Harvey & Humphreys, 1995 (spider)
Dysnocryptus balthasar, D. gaspar, and D. melchior Holloway (weevils from Three Kings' Islands)
Echinobothrium dougbermani Caira et al., 2013 (tapeworm; the authors explained "This species honors National Public Radio's Doug Berman, for there is no better entertainment while sitting at a microscope drawing new tapeworms than his creations "Car Talk" and "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me")
Effigia okeeffeae Nesbitt, 2007 (dinosaur from Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, near where Georgia O'Keeffe lived)
Electroneuria ronwoodi, Lapisperla keithrichardsi, Largusoperla charliewattsi, Largusoperla brianjonesi, Largusoperla micktaylori, Largusoperla billwymani, and Petroperla mickjaggeri Sroka et al., 2018 (fossil stoneflies; after The Rolling Stones)
Elephantis jaggeri Klotz & De Grave, 2015 (shrimp)
Elipsocus lanceloticus Baz, 1991 (barklouse)
Elysia manriquei (sea slug; after artist Cesar Manrique "for the architecture and colorful designs of its body")
Eoperipatus totoro Oliveira et al., 2013 (velvet worm; after Hayao Miyazaki's cuddly animated character)
Epirhyssa shaka Rousse & van Noort, 2014 (South African Wasp; for African monarch Shaka Zulu)
Ereboporus naturaconservatus Miller, Gibson & Alarie 2009 (water beetle that lives in a single underground spring; after the Nature Conservancy, which holds the property)
Erechthias beeblebroxi Robinson & Nelson, 1993 (tineid moth with false head; see Bidenichthys beeblebroxi above)
Eriovixia gryffindori Ahmed et al. 2016 (spider shaped like the fictional Hogwart's "sorting hat" belonging to Godric Gryffindor)
Eristalis alleni and E. gatesi Thompson, 1997 (hover flies; after Microsoft founders Paul Allen and Bill Gates)
Etheostoma clinton, E. gore, E. jimmycarter, E. obama and E. teddyroosevelt Mayden & Layman, 2012 (darters)
Eucteniza panchovillai Bond & Goodwin, 2013 (spider; discovered in San Juan del Rio, Durango, Mexico, birthplace of Mexican Revolutionary general Francisco "Pancho" Villa)
Euderus set Egan et al. 2017 (eulophid wasp; parasitoid that kills its host in a "crypt" and then dismembers it, as the evil Egyptian deity Set did to his brother Osiris)
Eurycyde golem Sabroux et al., 2019 (fossil sea spider; named after the Golem, a mythological creature formed of clay)
Euthora timburtonii Clarkston & Saunders, 2010 (alga)
Falliellus richardi Bellamy, 2001 (beetle; after Richard Fall, founder of the entomological supply company used by the author)
Fernandocrambus chopinellus Bleszynski, 1967 (pyralid moth)
Fiordichthys slartibartfasti Paulin, 1995 (triplefin blenny fish, named after another "Hitchhiker's" character who designed fjords)
Gaga germanotta and Gaga monstraparva Pryer et al., 2012 (ferns; the genus named after the performer, Lady Gaga, the former epithet referring to her family name, the other referring to her fans - called "little monsters")
Gazella bilkis Groves & Lay, 1985 (recently extinct Yemeni gazelle; for Bilkis, the Queen of Sheba, which may have been Yemen)
Geragnostus waldorfstatleri Turvey, 2005 (trilobite whose tail resembles the heads of Waldorf and Statler of "The Muppet Show")
Gnathia marleyi Sikkel, 2012 (parasitic isopod from the Caribbean)
Grandaustralis boomerang Hutchinson & Moeseneder, 2013 (scarab beetle from Australia)
Greeffiella beatlei Lorenzen, 1969 (nematode)
Gymnetis drogoni, G. rhaegali, and G. viserioni Ratcliffe, 2018 (scarab beetles; after "Game of Thrones" dragons)
Han solo Turvey, 2005 (trilobite)
Heteropoda davidbowie Jäger, 2008 (a spider, but not from Mars)
Heterospilus reagani Marsh, 2013 (wasp; after Ronald Reagan)
Hoia hoi Avdeev & Kazatchenko, 1986 (parasitic copepod; named after Ju-Shey Ho)
Hydroscapha redfordi Maier, Ivie, Johnson, & Maddison, 2010 (aquatic beetle; after Robert Redford, who portrayed Jeremiah Johnson, after whom the authors believed the hot springs where the beetle lives were named)
Hyla stingi Kaplan, 1994 (tree frog; named after Sting for his efforts on behalf of rain forests)
Hyloscirtus princecharlesi Coloma et al., 2012 (tree frog)
Hypocaccus kidpaddlei Gomy, 2007 (beetle; after "Kid Paddle," a Franco-Belgian comic, because the beetle looks like a "blork", a monster from the Kid Paddle videogame)
Idris elba Talamas, 2019 (parasitic wasp; the genus Idris was described in 1856)
Ilomantis ginsburgae Brannoch & Svenson, 2016 (mantis; after Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a US Supreme Court Justice known for frilly neckwear)
Irritator challengeri Martill et al., 1996 (dinosaur; named after the annoying Professor Challenger from Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World")
Japewiella dollypartoniana Allen & Lendemer, 2015 (Appalachian lichen: "Parton rose to stardom...in the mountains of eastern Tennessee on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains where this species grows abundantly.")
Kaikaia gaga Morris & Dietrich, 2020 (treehopper; also after Lady Gaga)
Kalloprion kilmisteri Eriksson, 2006 (fossil polychaete; after Lemmy Kilmister of the band Motorhead)
Kerevata jamesmayi, K. clarksoni and K. hammondi Butcher et al., 2014 (braconid wasps; after the stars of the TV show "Top Gear")
Kerygmachela kierkegaardi Budd, 1998 (fossil marine arthropod)
Kingnites diamondi Ericsson, 2012 (fossil worm; after heavy metal band King Diamond)
Kootenichela deppi Legg, 2013 (fossil marine arthropod; after Johnny Depp, as it possessed scissor-like appendages)
Kora corallina Simone, 2012 (snail; for Brazilian poet Cora Corallina)
Khruschevia ridicula Flower (worm; named to show the author's dislike)
Laelius arryni, L. baratheoni, L. lannisteri, L. martelli, L. targaryeni, L. tullyi and L. starki Barbosa, 2014 (bethylid wasps; named after the various noble houses in "Game of Thrones")
Lasioglossum obamai Genaro, 2016 (Cuban sweat bee)
Lasioglossum scheherezade Ebmer, 2000 (sweat bee)
Leonardo davincii Blezynski, 1965 (pyralid moth)
Lepidogryllus darthvaderi Desutter-Grandcolas & Anso, 2016 (cricket)
Lepidopa luciae Boyko, 2002 (sand crab; after crabby "Peanuts" character Lucy van Pelt)
Lepithrix freudi Schein, 1959 (scarab beetle)
Leucothoe eltoni Thomas 2015 (amphipod; after Elton John, because the feet were enlarged, reminiscent of the "Pinball Wizard" character)
Liriomyza ivorcutleri Eiseman & Lonsdale, 2018 (leaf miner fly; a small yellow fly, named after Ivor Cutler, the Scottish recording artist responsible for ÒYellow Fly,Ó along with other classics like ÒI Believe in Bugs.Ó Litarachna lopezae Woller 2014 (marine mite; after performer Jennifer Lopez, whose music was played while the species was being described)
Livyatan melvillei Lambert et al., 2010 (fossil whale)
Lycocerus evangelium Hsiao & Okushima 2016, (soldier beetle; after "Neon Genesis Evangelion")
Mackenziurus johnnyi, M. joeyi, M. deedeei, M. ceejayi Adrain & Edgecombe, 1997 (trilobites; for the uninitiated, The Ramones)
Madeleinea lolita Balint, 1993 and Pseudolucia humbert Balint & Johnson, 1995 (lycaenid butterflies in a group studied by Nabokov, who first named the genus Pseudolucia)
Malo kingi Gershwin, 2007 (jellyfish; after Robert King, an American tourist who died in Australia after being stung by this then-unknown species)
Marshiella lettermani Shaw, 2000 (braconid wasp; after David Letterman)
Masiakasaurus knopfleri Sampson et al., 2001 (fossil theropod; after Mark Knopfler)
Masona popeye Quicke & Chaul, 2019 (wasp with swollen extremities)
Mastophora dizzydeani Eberhard, 1984 (spider that whirls a sticky ball on the end of a thread to catch its prey)
Medusaceratops lokii Ryan, Russell & Hartman, 2010 (dinosaur; specifically referring to the Medusa from the original "Clash of the Titans" movie, and the helmet of the Marvel Comics villain Loki, due to the spikes and snake-like projections of the skull)
Megachile chomskyi Sheffield, 2013 (leafcutter bee; after author Noam Chomsky)
Megapropodiphora arnoldi Brown, 2018 (world's smallest fly; named after Arnold Schwarzenegger, for its enlarged limbs)
Megalara garuda Kimsey & Ohl, 2012 (giant wasp with huge jaws from Indonesia; after Garuda, mythical warrior-king of flying things, and national symbol of Indonesia)
Megaselia mithridatesi Hash, 2014 (scuttle fly; named after King Mithridates, who consumed small amounts of poison each day to immunize himself; these flies consume highly toxic defensive compounds produced by millipedes)
Mesoparapylocheles michaeljacksoni Fraaije et al., 2012 (fossil hermit crab)
Metallactus dicaprioi Sassi, 2019 and Metallactus londonpridei Sassi, 2018 (leaf beetles; the latter named after a local beer the researcher found particularly refreshing while working on beetles in London's Natural History Museum)
Microchilo elgrecoi and M. murilloi Bleszynski, 1966 (pyralid moths; named after baroque painters)
Microgaster godzilla Fernandez-Triana & Kamino, 2020 (parasitic wasp that emerges from underwater to attack moths)
Mitra kamehameha Pilsbry, 1921 (mollusc; after King Kamehameha I)
Mozartella beethoveni Girault, 1926 (Encyrtid wasp)
Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi Bond & Platnick, 2007 (trapdoor spider)
Myrmekiaphila tigris Bond & Ray, 2012 (trapdoor spider; after the mascot of Auburn University, near where the holotype was collected)
Nanocthulhu lovecrafti Buffington, 2012 (Figitid wasp with a multi-pronged face)
Napoleonaea imperialis (bromeliad)
Neopalpa donaldtrumpi Nazari, 2017 (moth with toupee-like scales on its head)
Neoperla teresa Stark, 2008 (stonefly; after Teresa Heinz Kerry, a noted environmentalist and philanthropist)
Neopilina galatheae (archaic snail; named after the deep-sea exploration vessel Galathea)
Nocticola pheromosa Foo, 2022 (roach; named after a roach-like Pokemon character)
Norasaphus monroeae Fortey & Shergold, 1984 (hourglass-shaped trilobite)
Ochyrocera aragogue, O. atlachnacha, O. charlotte, O. laracna, O. misspider, O. ungoliant, and O. varys Brescovit et al., 2018 (Brazilian cave spiders named for fictional spiders, as follows: Aragog, from "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"; Atlach-Nacha, a supernatural spider entity in H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythology; Charlotte, from the classic "Charlotte's Web"; "Laracna" (the Portuguese translation of "Shelob") from "Lord of the Rings"; Little Miss Spider, from the children's books by David Kirk; Ungoliant, from Tolkien's "The Silmarillion"; and Lord Varys, a character known as "the Spider" in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire")
Oenonites zappae Eriksson, 1997 (fossil polychaete)
Orectochilus orbisonorum Miller, Mazzoldi, & Wheeler, 2008 (whirligig beetle; after Roy Orbison and his wife)
Orontobia dalailama De Freina, 1997 (tiger moth from Tibet)
Orsonwelles othello, O. macbeth, O. falstaffius, O. ambersonorum Hormiga 2002 (spiders; named after famous Orson Welles roles)
Osedax jabba Rouse et al., 2018 (bone-eating marine worm; "The trunk of the new species is reminiscent of the tail of the mythical creature Jabba the Hutt from the Star Wars franchise")
Otocinclus batmani Lehmann, 2006 (catfish with bat-shaped mark near its tail)
Oxybelus cocacolae Verhoeff, 1968 (fly-eating sand wasp)
Pachybrachis cubs Barney, 2019 (beetle; after baseball team)
Pachygnatha zappa Bosmans & Bosselaers, 1994 (spider "with a Zappa-moustache-like black mark on the ventral side of the abdomen")
Paragordius obamai Hanelt et al., 2012 (hairworm; after Barack Obama)
Paramonovius nightking Li & Yeates, 2018 (bee fly, active only in the winter; after the Night King from "Game of Thrones")
Paramphientomum yumyum Enderlein, 1907 (Japanese barklouse; after the character Yum-yum in Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado")
Peloridinannus curly, P. larry and P. moe Weirauch & Frankenberg, 2015 (true bugs; after the "Three Stooges")
Phanuromyia odo Nesheim, 2017 (wasp; after "Deep Space Nine" character)
Pheidole drogon and P. viserion Fischer et al. 2016 (ants; after "Game of Thrones" dragons)
Pheidole harrisonfordi and P. mooreorum Wilson 2002 (ants; Harrison Ford served as Vice Chairman of Conservation International, and Wilson honored him with a new ant species, and named another after Gordon Moore, founder of Intel, and his wife, for their environmental philanthropy)
Pheidole eowilsoni Longino, 2009 (ant; after E.O. Wilson)
Phialella zappai Boero, 1987 (jellyfish; named as part of Boero's plan to meet Frank Zappa)
Phytotelmatrichis osopaddington Darby & Chaboo, 2015 (beetle; Peruvian beetle named after the fictional Paddington Bear, also originally from Peru)
Pimoa cthulhu Hormiga, 1994 (spider; named after H.P. Lovecraft's most evil, dreadful, and hideous fictional creation)
Poanes hobomok Harris, 1862 (skipper butterfly; after the Native American guide and translator)
Polemistus chewbacca and P. vaderi Menke, 1983 (wasps)
Polycirrus aoandon and P. onibi Jimi, 2023 (glowing deep-sea worms, named after malevolent glowing Japanese mythological spirits)
Polypterus mokelembembe Schafer & Schliewen 2006 (Congolese reedfish; after the mythical Congolese creature "Mokele-mbembe")
Pristimantis gretathunbergae Mebert et al., 2022 (frog; after climate activist Greta Thunberg)
Pristionchus maxplancki Kanzaki et al., 2013 (nematode; the researchers were affiliated with the Max Planck Institute)
Proceratium google Fisher, 2005 (ant; honors the mapping software Fisher used in his research)
Prosopanche demogorgoni Funez, Ribeiro-Nardes, Kossmann, et al., 2019 (parasitic flower from Brazil that resembles the "Stranger Things" Demogorgon monster)
Psephophorus terrypratchetti Kohler, 1995 (fossil turtle; Pratchett's Discworld stories are set in a world carried on the back of a giant turtle)
Pseudione quasimodo Boyko & Williams, 2004 (humpbacked isopod)
Pseudocorinna alligator, P. felix and P. brianeno Jocque & Bosselaers, 2011 (spiders; the first two for their head shapes, the latter for the musician)
Pseudoparamys cezannei Hartenberger, 1987 (extinct rodent)
Pterostichus mujahedeeni and P. talibani Savich, 1999 (ground beetles from Afghanistan)
Ptomaphaginus isabellarossellini Schilthuizen et al., 2018 (carrion beetle)
Qiliania graffini Ji et al., 2011 (fossil bird; after punk rocker paleontologist Greg Graffin)
Quetzalcoatlus northropi Lawson, 1975 (pterosaur; Quetzalcoatl was the Aztec god of the air and Northrop was an aircraft designer)
Ricinus vaderi Valan, 2016 (bird louse)
Roberthoffstetteria nationalgeographica (fossil vertebrate)
Roddenberryus kirk, R. mccoy, and R. spock Sanchez-Ruiz & Bonaldo, 2023 (spiders, after "Star Trek" and notable characters)
Rollinschaeta myoplena Parry et al. 2015 (fossil fireworm, for punk musician and spoken word artist, Henry Rollins)
Rooseveltia frankliniana Cook (palm; after Franklin D. Roosevelt; synonymized)
Rosenblattia robusta Mead & De Falla (a robust deep-sea fish named for the equally robust Richard Rosenblatt of Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
Rostropria garbo Early (diapriid wasp; described from "a solitary female")
Salinoctomys loschalchalerosorum Mares et al., 2000 (endangered Argentinian rat; after Argentinian band)
Salvia leninae Epling, 1941 (named after the mule that carried the collector of the new species on his field trips)
Salmonella enterica mjordan (a strain of intestinal bacteria named after basketball superstar Michael Jordan)
Scaptia beyonceae Lessard, 2012 (a horse fly; "It was the unique dense golden hairs on the fly's abdomen that led me to name this fly in honour of the performer Beyoncé")
Scoterpes jackdanieli Shear, 2010 (millipede from a cave on the grounds of the Jack Daniel's distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee)
Scrophularia landroveri Wendelbo, 1964 (a figwort from Afghanistan, honoring the author's mode of field transportation)
Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei Rich & Vickers-Rich, 2003 (dinosaur; after Arthur C. Clarke and Clarke's adoptive country, Sri Lanka - formerly known as "Serendip")
Sericomyrmex radioheadi Jesovnik & Schultz, 2017 (ant; after band Radiohead)
Shaihuludia shurikeni Kimmig et al., 2023 (fossil worm; genus name after giant worms from Frank Herbert's "Dune", species name after resemblance of bristles on worm to Japanese throwing stars)
Sinemys gamera Brinkman & Peng, 1993 (fossil turtle from Japan; named for the giant, flying, fire-breathing Japanese movie turtle - its shell even sports two sweptback 'winglike' projections)
Sonoma agitator, S. cardiac, S. cobra, S. colberti, S. quellazaire, S. rossellinae, S. stewarti, and S. twaini Ferro, 2016 (rove beetles; respectively: a species that repeatedly made the author anxious; a species whose male genitalia are shaped like a heart, a species whose male genitalia resemble a fanged snake; after Stephen Colbert; a species whose male genitalia resemble a cigarette holder; after Isabella Rossellini, for her "Green Porno" film series portraying insect sexual habits; after Jon Stewart; after Mark Twain)
Sorolopha bruneiregalis Tuck & Robinson, 1994 (tortricid moth; after Royal Brunei Airlines)
Spelaeornis troglodytoides indiraji Ripley et al., 1991 (Indian bird; for Indira Gandhi)
Spintharus barackobamai Agnarsson & Van Patten, 2017, S. berniesandersi and S. michelleobamaae Agnarsson & Sargeant, 2017, S. davidbowiei Agnarsson & Chomitz, 2017, S. leonardodicaprioi Van Patten & Agnarsson, 2017, and S. manrayi Chomitz & Agnarsson, 2017 (Smiley-faced spiders)
Spongiforma squarepantsii Desjardins et al., 2011 (fungus; after Spongebob)
Stannis baratheon Ryzhkova & Coram, 2016 (fossil shore bug; after "Game of Thrones" character)
Stasimopus mandelai Hendrixson & Bond, 2004 (South African spider, after Nelson Mandela)
Stenotabanus sputnikulus Philip, 1958 (a fly; named for Sputnik)
Stentorceps weedlei Nielsen & Buffington, 2011 (Figitid wasp with horn on its head resembling the Pokemon character, "Weedle")
Strigiphilus garylarsoni Clayton (owl louse)
Stylaclista quasimodo Early (diapriid wasp)
Sula abbotti costelloi Steadman, Schubel & Pahlavan, 1988 (a recently extinct booby)
Sylvilagus palustris hefneri Lazell, 1984 (a "bunny")
Synalpheus pinkfloydi Anker et al., 2017 (snapping shrimp with pink claw)
Taeniopteryx mercuryi Fochetti & Nicolai, 1996 (winter stonefly; after Freddie Mercury)
Taito galaga, T. spaceinvaders, T. honda, T. kakera, T. kawaiikei, and T. rorschachi Kury & Barros, 2014 (arachnids; named for the resemblances of their species-specific markings, respectively, to: video game aliens (two different games), the car company logo, the "shards" in InuYasha, cute hearts, and an inkblot test. Also, the genus name honors the video game company)
Tarkus squirei Carnevale & Pietsch, 2011 (fossil batfish; genus name is from the album by the band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and the species name is from guitarist Chris Squire of the band Yes, whose nickname is "Fish")
Terebellides sepultura Garrafoni & Lana, 2003 (polychaete; after Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura)
Tetragnatha quasimodo (humpbacked Hawaiian spider)
Tetragramma donaldtrumpi Thompson, 2016 (fossil sea urchin)
Tetramorium adamsi, T. elf, and T. jedi Hita Garcia & Fisher, 2012 (ants; the former after "Hitchhiker's Guide" author, the others self-explanatory)
Tianyulong confuciusi Zheng et al., 2009 (Chinese dinoasaur)
Tinkerbella nana Huber, 2013 (mymarid wasp, a.k.a. a "fairyfly")
Torvosaurus gurneyi Hendrickx & Mateus, 2014 (dinosaur; for James Gurney, author of the "Dinotopia" books and designer of the 1996 U.S. World of Dinosaurs commemorative stamps)
Trigonopterus chewbacca Van Dam & Riedel, 2016 (weevil)
Trigonopterus asterix, T. idefix, T. obelix, and T. yoda Riedel 2019 (weevils)
Tritonia khaleesi Vasconcelos Silva et al., 2013 (sea slug; after "Game of Thrones" character)
Troglocladius hajdi Andersen et al., 2016 (cave midge: "Named after the Hajdi, a group of winged, dwarf-like creatures from Slavic mythology, where they acted as messengers of fate and were said to dwell in caves")
Trypanosoma irwini McInnes et al., 2009 (trypanosome; after Steve Irwin)
Tyrion lannister and Tyrion cersei Ryzhkova & Coram, 2016 (fossil shore bugs; after "Game of Thrones" characters)
Vampirococcus lugosii Moreira et al., 2021 (bacterium that preys on other bacteria)
Vampyressa brocki Peterson, 1968 (South American bat named for philanthropist, adventurer, and former "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" co-host Stan Brock)
Viavenator exxoni Filippi et al., 2016 (dinosaur from Patagonia; "in recognition of Exxonmobil's commitment to the preservation of paleontological heritage of the La Invernada area, Rincon de los Sauces, Neuquen, Patagonia Argentina")
Villa sodom Williston, 1893 (bee fly)
Voeltzkowia mobydick Miralles et al., 2015 (skink with flipper-like forelimbs, no hindlimbs, and no pigmentation)
Walckenaeria pinocchio Kaston, 1945 (spider with a long "nose")
Wallacea darwini Hill, 1919 (stratiomyid fly; named for the co-discoverers of natural selection)
Wockia chewbacca Adamski, 2009 (moth)
Xanthosomnium froesei Sime & Wahl, 2002 (ichneumonid wasp; "Xanthosomnium" can be translated as "Tangerine Dream", the band of which Edgar Froese was a founding member)
Xylophanes cthulhu Haxaire & Vaglia, 2008 (sphinx moth)
Xenox simson Fabricius, 1805, followed up by Xenox delila Loew, 1869 (bee flies)