Newly created taxonomic names in biological nomenclature often reflect the discoverer's interests or honour those the discoverer holds in esteem, including fictional elements from works like Star Wars.[1][2][3]
This is a list of real organisms with scientific names chosen to reference the fictional Star Wars series created by George Lucas.[clarification needed]
Named after Darth Vader
| Taxon | Type | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polemistus vaderi Menke & Vincent, 1983 | Wasp | Menke stated that he "wanted to add a little humor in the otherwise rather dry subject of taxonomy". | [4][5] |
| Darthvaderum greensladeae Hunt, 1996 | Mite | "When I saw the SEM of the gnathosoma I immediately thought of Darth Vader, evil antihero of Star Wars." | [6] |
| Adelomyrmex vaderi Fernández, 2003 | Ant | "The dark aspect of these ants evokes Darth Vader, the malign character in the Star Wars series, for whom this species is named." | [7] |
| Thricops vaderi Savage, 2003 | True fly | [8] | |
| Agathidium vaderi Miller and Wheeler, 2005 | Beetle | Darth Vader "shares with A. vaderi a broad, shiny, helmetlike head." | [9][10] |
| Garthambrus darthvaderi McLay & S.H.Tan, 2009 | Crab | The specific epithet "alludes to the helmet-like appearance of the front of this species." | [11] |
| Zoosphaerium darthvaderi Wesener & Bespalova, 2010 | Millipede | "From the Star Wars character Darth Vader, whose helmet strongly resembles the anal shield of this species." | [12] |
| Begonia darthvaderiana Lin, et al | Begonia | "The epithet refers to the resemblance of the unique dark appearance of this new Begonia to that of warrior Darth Vader" | [13] |
| Diastolinus vaderi Hart and Ivie, 2016 | Darkling beetle | The species has a "shiny black head and pronotum that bear a striking resemblance to the helmet" of Darth Vader. | [14] |
| Lepidogryllus darthvaderi Desutter-Grandcolas & Anso, 2016 | Cricket | "Species named after its striking coloration within the genus: wholly dark (bad) with some light patches (good), as the bad fictional character Darth Vader " | [15] |
| Ricinus vaderi Valan, 2016 | Chewing louse | "The first author’s fiancée noticed a similarity between the head of the R. vaderi and Darth Vader’s helmet." | [16] |
| Epicratinus anakin Gonçalves & Brescovit, 2020 | Spider | "Anakin is a character which change[s] from the light side to the dark side of the 'Force' and becomes evil in the plot. The two colors of the male carapace remind that change." | [17] |
| Epicratinus vader Gonçalves & Brescovit, 2020 | Spider | "Darth Vader is a character which wears a costume and black helmet, like the color of the male carapace." |
Named after Yoda
| Taxon | Type | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polemistus yoda Menke & Vincent, 1983 | Wasp | Menke stated that he "wanted to add a little humor in the otherwise rather dry subject of taxonomy". | [4][5] |
| Albunione yoda Markham & Boyko, 2003 | Isopod | Named "in recognition that the slightly curved long lateral extensions of the female’s head resemble the head shape of Yoda with his long drooping ears." | [18] |
| Yoda purpurata Priede, et al, 2012 | Acorn worm | "Yoda refers to the lateral lips, which are shaped like the ears of Yoda, a character in the Star Wars universe." | [19] |
| Meoneura yodai Stuke 2016 | Fly | "This species is dedicated to Grand Master Yoda, the smallest Jedi of the Star Wars space opera" | [20] |
| Trigonopterus yoda Riedel, 2019 | Weevil | The name "appears to fit to a small greenish forest-dwelling creature". | [21] |
Named after Chewbacca
| Taxon | Type | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polemistus chewbacca Menke & Vincent, 1983 | Wasp | Menke stated that he "wanted to add a little humor in the otherwise rather dry subject of taxonomy". | [4][5] |
| Wockia chewbacca Adamski, 2009 | Moth | "The species epithet, chewbacca, is named after the very large and hairy Wookiee character in the Star Wars movie series." | [22] |
| Trigonopterus chewbacca Van Dam, Laufa and Ridel, 2016 | Weevil | "This species has dense scales on the head and the legs, which reminds the authors of Chewbacca's dense fur." | [23] |
| Urubaxia chewie Paladini & Carvalho, 2016 | True bug | "[T]he epithet is relative to the big size of this species compared to other Urubaxia species — for its appearance we name it in honor of the sci-fi character Chewbacca, dearly known as Chewie" | [24] |
Named after Luke Skywalker
| Taxon | Type | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sclerobunus skywalkeri Derkarabetian & Hedin, 2014 | Harvestman | "The specific epithet is in reference to the character Luke Skywalker and is used to recognize the multi-generational influence and significance of the original Star Wars trilogy. This name also reflects the fact that this species is found only at high elevations in 'sky island' montane habitats, and thus appears to 'walk the sky'." | [25] |
| Hoolock tianxing Fan et al, 2017 | Gibbon | "Tianxing constitutes the pinyin transliteration of 天行, meaning heaven's movement or skywalker [...] a name referring to the unique locomotory mode of gibbons" The species was given the common name "Skywalker hoolock gibbon". | [26][27] |
| Romanogobio skywalkeri Friedrich et al, 2018 | Ray-finned fish | "Named for Luke Skywalker, the hero of the movie 'Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope'" | [28] |
Named after Mandalorians
| Taxon | Type | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mesobiotus mandalori Erdmann, Kosicki, Kayastha, Mioduchowska & Kaczmarek, 2024 | Tardigrade | "The name mandalori alludes to the fictional planet of Mandalore (home world of Mandalorians), from the Star Wars Universe. The first ever visual depiction of Mandalore showed this world as being covered by dense forests, and its inhabitants living in villages hidden in the tree canopies. This reflects the type locality of the new species, i.e. moss on trees in deep forest." | [29] |
Named after Han Solo
| Taxon | Type | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| †Han solo Turvey, 2005 | Trilobite | The fossil was discovered in southern China. It was purportedly named for the Han Chinese people and for being the only member of its genus. Turvey later stated he was dared by friends to name a species after a Star Wars character. | [30] |
| Urubaxia solo Paladini & Carvalho, 2016 | True bug | "the epithet is relative to the paramere with only one sclerotized spine, and in honor of the sci-fi character Han Solo from Star Wars © saga — we grieve his death in the movie The Force Awakens." | [24] |
Named after Padmé Amidala
| Taxon | Type | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Begonia amidalae Lin, et al | Begonia | "With embellished silvery spots on dark sheen green foliages, the appearance of this new species is reminiscent of the starry sky. We have, therefore, ventured to choose a beautiful role of Star Wars as the epithet." | [13] |
| †Xenokeryx amidalae Sánchez et al, 2015 | Ruminant | "Referred to the fictional character Padmé Amidala from Star Wars, due to the striking resemblance that the occipital appendage of Xenokeryx bears to one of the hairstyles that the aforementioned character shows in The Phantom Menace feature film." | [31] |
Named after Porgs
| Taxon | Type | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crocydocinus porg Lee, Forges & Ng, 2019 | Crab | "The species is named after a Star Wars movie character, Porg, due to its woolly appearance." | [32] |
| Trigonopterus porg Narakusumo & Riedel, 2019 | Weevil | Named after the "fictional penguin-like character Porg in the Star Wars movies. This species inhabiting a remote island has the same color combination of black, orange and white." | [33] |
Named after other characters and elements
| Taxon | Type | Named for | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii" | Bacterium | Midi-chlorians | "Midichlorians are microscopic symbionts that reside within the cells of living things and 'communicate with the Force'." Candidatus Midichloria lives symbiotically in the ovary cells of female ticks. | [34] |
| Aptostichus sarlacc Bond, 2012 | Trapdoor spider | Sarlacc | "The specific epithet is a noun in apposition taken from the fictional creature in George Lucas' science fiction saga, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi." | [35] |
| Tetramorium jedi Hita Garcia & Fisher, 2012 | Ant | Jedi | "This new species is named after the fictional, noble, and wise guardians of peace from the Star Wars universe created by George Lucas." | [36] |
| Tetramorium obiwan Hita Garcia & Fisher, 2014 | Ant | Obi-Wan Kenobi | "The name of the new species is inspired by a fictional character from George Lucas' Star Wars universe: the wise Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi." | [37] |
| Peckoltia greedoi Armbruster, Werneke & M. Tan, 2015 | Catfish | Greedo | "Named for Greedo of Rodia, a bounty hunter killed by Han Solo in Chalmun’s Spaceport Cantina [...] with whom this species shares a remarkable resemblance." | [38] |
| Ackbaria Campodonico & Zahniser, 2017 | True bug | Admiral Ackbar | "This genus is named after Admiral Gial Ackbar" | [39] |
| Tropostreptus droides Enghoff, 2017 | Millipede | Battle Droid | "The name is an adjective and refers to the (rather remote) resemblance between the gonopod coxae of the new species and a pair of Star Wars battle droids." | [40] |
| Osedax jabba Rouse et al, 2018 | Annelid | Jabba the Hutt | "The trunk of the new species is reminiscent of the tail of the mythical creature Jabba the Hutt" | [41] |
| Stormtropis Perafán, Galvis & Pérez-Miles, 2019 | Baldlegged spiders | Stormtroopers | "The stormtroopers are the soldiers of the main ground force of the Galactic Empire. These soldiers are very similar to each other, with some capacity for camouflage but with unskillful movements, like this group of spiders." | [42] |
| †Cambroraster falcatus Moysiuk & Caron, 2019 | Radiodont | Millennium Falcon | "The species name also relates to its field nickname 'spaceship' in reference to the H-element's resemblance to the fictional Millennium Falcon starship in the Star Wars franchise." | [43] |
| Crocydocinus ewok Lee, Forges & Ng, 2019 | Crab | Ewoks | "The species is name after a Star Wars movie character, Ewok, due to the fuzzy and woolly appearance of the new species." | [44] |
| Meoneura artoodetoo Stuke & Barták, 2019 | Fly | R2-D2 | "This species is dedicated [..] to the fictional robot R2-D2 from George Lucas' Star Wars movies. R2-D2 is a small and inconspicuous robot but saved the world." | [45] |
| Adeonellopsis macewindui Liow & Gordon, 2020 | Bryozoan | Mace Windu | "Named for the fictional character Mace Windu in the Star Wars franchise; he uniquely wielded a purple-bladed lightsaber. The name alludes to the new purplish-bladed Adeonellopsis species while indirectly acknowledging the Black Lives Matter movement through African-American actor Samuel L. Jackson who played the role of Mace Windu." | [46] |
| Epicratinus dookan Gonçalves & Brescovit, 2020 | Spider | Dookan, the Brazilian name for Count Dooku | "Count Dookan [Brazilian name] is a character which wears a curved hilt of his lightsaber, as the curved dorsal projection at the base of the RTA." | [17] |
| Coptoborus leia Smith & Cognato, 2021 | Bark beetle | Princess Leia Organa | "The species is setose and round like the character’s bun-styled hair." | [47] |
| †Euronecturus grogu Macaluso, Villa & Mörs, 2022 | Salamander | Grogu | "[L]ike the new taxon herein described, Grogu is a member of an ancient lineage we know nothing or almost nothing about, which appears in an unexpected place at an unexpected time." | [48] |
Named after Star Wars actors
| Taxon | Type | Named for | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tianchisaurus nedegoapeferima † Dong, 1993 | Dinosaur | Laura Dern and others | Named for actors involved in the 1993 film Jurassic Park: Neill, Dern, Goldblum, Attenborough, Peck, Ferrero, Richards, and Mazzello. The type specimen was informally referred to as "Jurassosaurus". The species name was proposed by director Steven Spielberg. Dern played Vice-Admiral Holdo in The Last Jedi. | [citation needed] |
| Venomius tomhardyi Rossi, Castanheira, Baptista & Framenau, 2023 | Spider | Tom Hardy | The monotypic genus Venomius had been named after the Marvel Comics character Venom, and the species was named "in reference to the English actor Edward Thomas 'Tom' Hardy, who plays the character Eddie Brock and his alter-ego Venom in the super-hero films of the same name." Hardy played the Stormtrooper FN-926 in The Last Jedi in a scene that was deleted. | [49] |
| Calponia harrisonfordi Platnick, 1993 | Spider | Harrison Ford | Named after Harrison Ford to thank him for narrating a documentary for the Natural History Museum in London. | [50] |
| Pheidole harrisonfordi E. O. Wilson, 2002 | Ant | Harrison Ford | Named after Harrison Ford in honor of his work in conservation. | [51] |
| Tachymenoides harrisonfordi Lehr, Cusi, Fernandez, Vera & Catenazzi, 2023 | Snake | Harrison Ford | "We dedicate this species to Harrison Ford, actor and conservationist, in recognition of his work for Conservation International and his voice for nature (e.g., 'Nature is speaking – Harrison Ford is The Ocean')." | [52] |
| Cantharis mikkelsenorum † Fanti & Damgaard, 2018 | Beetle | Lars Mikkelsen and Mads Mikkelsen | A fossil soldier beetle found in Baltic amber from the Eocene of Kaliningrad Oblast. "This new species is named in honour of the Danish actors Lars Dittmann Mikkelsen and Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen, in recognition of their contribution to the television, theatre and film industries." Lars played Grand Admiral Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels and Ahsoka, while Mads appeared in Rogue One as Galen Erso. | [53] |
| Ctenus monaghani Jäger, 2013 | Spider | Dominic Monaghan | A wandering spider from Laos, "named in honour of the British actor Dominic Monaghan who filmed together with the author in Laos for the documentary show Wild Things; Dom’s enthusiasm for nature in general, and spiders and other little respected animals in particular, was the driving force behind the production of this documentary." Subsequently transferred to genus Bowie (which is named after musician David Bowie). Monaghan played Beaumont Kin in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. | [54][55] [56] |
See also
References
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