Seven Musicians with Newly Discovered Species Named After Them

Earlier this week, it was announced that Radiohead would be getting a newly discovered species of ant named after them. Given the scientific name Sericomyrmex Radioheadi, these “silky” ants are related to leaf cutter ants and are distinctly known for their ability to farm for their food, in this case fungi. Ana Jasovnik and Ted R. Schultz, who discovered the new species in the Venezuelan Amazon, decided to name it after the band as a way to honor both their music and conservation efforts.

This obviously isn’t a new phenomenon, as many other artists have been honored with species names, sometimes multiple times over. Radiohead aren’t even the only band to be honored this month, as it was announced on the 12^th that a new species of pink shrimp found off the Pacific coast of Panama was named after Pink Floyd.

We here at Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, are inspired by this intersection of music and science. That is why we have compiled this list of seven species that were named after some of our favorite artists over the last seven years.

1.       Bono: In 2013, a spider found in Joshua Tree was named after the U2 frontman in honor of the band’s ‘The Joshua Tree’ album. Aptostichus bonoi is a species of spine-y trapdoor spider that captures prey by jumping out of its burrow and injecting it with venom.

2.       Bob Marley: Marley was honored with a crustacean in 2012, though it doesn’t seem like a very fun species to have named after you. That’s because Gnathia marleyi is a parasitic creature that feeds on blood and infests coral reefs in the Caribbean. It was named after the reggae legend because of its discoverer’s love of his music and its uniqueness to the Caribbean.

3.       Jennifer Lopez: Taking their cues from the music they were listening to while making their discovery, scientists named a new species of Puerto Rican water mite after Jennifer Lopez in 2014. Litarachna lopezae was found deep beneath the rough waters between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Apparently the singer’s (who has Puerto Rican heritage) music was the only thing the team could agree on while they were documenting their findings.

4.       Grateful Dead: In 2016, a new species of otter was named after Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir. Lontra weiri, which lived millions of years ago, was discovered by paleontologist Kari Prassack by accident after visiting a museum in Idaho and noticing that a jaw bone was labeled incorrectly. Since Prassack was previously a Dead Head, following the band around for a good five years before Jerry Garcia passed away and she made up her mind to go back to school, she decided to name her discovery after the band that “made her more adventurous.”

5.       Beyoncé: Sometimes it takes a really long time to discover and name a new species. Take Scaptia beyonceae for example. This species of horsefly was first discovered in 1981 in Australia, but went unnamed until 2012. Scientists named it after Beyoncé because its backside full of golden hairs reminded them of the singer.

6.       Joe Strummer: In 2014, scientists decided to name a very punk rock-looking snail after one of the top names associated with the genre. Alviconcha strummeri, a species of underwater snail living in extreme conditions with spikes all over its shell and purple blood, was named after The Clash’s Joe Strummer because it reminded them of 1970s and 1980s punk couture.

7.       Lady Gaga: Lady Gaga has been honored numerous times by scientists naming new discoveries, including species of wasp and an extinct mammal that lived during the Eocene. But she is also probably the only musician in the world to also have an entire genus of plant named after her. The genus includes 19 species of fern that each include the DNA sequence GAGA.

In the last seven years alone, these seven artists and more have had the distinct honor of having a newly discovered species named after them. The practice has been going on far longer though, as there are many more artists we have not included on this list that have been paid homage to by music loving scientists.

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