Newly created taxonomic names in biological nomenclature often reflect the discoverer's interests or honour those the discoverer holds in esteem, including fictional elements.
† Denotes that the organism is extinct.
Literature Greek mythology Taxon Type Named for Notes RefAntigone antigone (Linnaeus, 1758)CraneAntigoneThe species was named after "Antigone, daughter of King Laomedon of Troy, who was metamorphosed into a stork for presuming to compare herself to the goddess Hera. Linnaeus confused this myth with that of Gerana, princess of the pygmies, who was changed into a crane by Hera for committing the same lèse-majesté" Saguinus oedipus (Linnaeus, 1758)New World monkeyOedipus Rex"Linnaeus had a penchant for giving primates names derived from mythology, sometimes with little obvious rationale. So he may have named this one after the mythical tragic King of Thebes, who unknowingly married his own mother."Astyanax Baird & Girard, 1854American TetraAstyanaxThe species was named after Astyanax (, "city protector"), a Trojan warrior in Greek mythology, son of Hector, Prince of Troy, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to large silvery scales of A. argentatus, which could be said to resemble armorPseudoeurycea rex (Dunn, 1921)SalamanderOedipus RexSpecies formerly named Oedipus rexOedipodrilus oedipus Holt, 1967Segmented wormOedipus RexAmblytylus peitho Leaf bugPeithoAtomophora astraia Leaf bugDike/AstraeaAndromakhe paris (Azpelicueta, Almirón & Casciotta, 2002)American TetraParisnamed for Paris (), uncle of Astyanax, both of whom fought in the Trojan war, named for its original placement in AstyanaxPseudotanais gaiae TanaidGaiaP. gaiae and P. uranos form a pair of sister species.Pseudotanais uranos TanaidUranus†Phyllodrepa daedali Rove beetleDaedalusFossil species found in Eocene Baltic amber. †Phyllodrepa icari Rove beetleIcarusAndromakhe Terán, Benitez & Mirande, 2020American TetraAndromachenamed for Andromakhe (, "battle of men"), wife of Hector, Prince of Troy, in Greek mythology, and, in Homer's epic poem Iliad, the mother of Astyanax (, "city protector"), named for its relationship to and the original placement of its species in AstyanaxHotwheels sisyphus SpiderSisyphus"The specific name is derived from Sisyphus, a king in Greek mythology who offended Zeus and whose punishment was to repeatedly roll a huge stone up a hill only to have it roll back down, because the circular copulatory ducts are like Sisyphus's cyclic mission."
Norse mythology Taxon Type Named for Notes Ref†Lokiceratops Ceratopsian dinosaur Loki"The generic name refers to the god Loki from Norse mythology, and ceratops, (Greek) meaning "horned face". The species name refers to the bilateral asymmetry of frill ornamentations, similar to the asymmetry in antlers of the reindeer/caribou genus Rangifer."†Medusaceratops lokii Ceratopsian dinosaur LokiLoki has a "helmet with [...] two giant hooks that come out of the top"Ryan, Michael J.; Russell, Anthony P., and Hartman, Scott. (2010). "A New Chasmosaurine Ceratopsid from the Judith River Formation, Montana", In: Michael J. Ryan, Brenda J. Chinnery-Allgeier, and David A. Eberth (eds), New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs: The Royal Tyrrell Museum Ceratopsian Symposium, Indiana University Press, 656 pp. .†Joermungandr bolti RecumbirostranJörmungandr"'Joermungandr' the Swedish phoneme of 'Jörmungandr' (gender: masculine) the name of the serpent that dwells in the 'Midgard Sea' from Norse mythology. The specific epithet 'bolti' is in honour of the late palaeontologist John R. Bolt."†Jormungandr walhallaensis MosasauridJörmungandr, ValhallaThe name is inspired by the discovery of the genus in the town of Walhalla, North Dakota.Voconia loki True bugLoki"Named after the cunning trickster from Norse mythology and from the Marvel Comics' character, Loki, since this specimen deceived and tricked authors in a previous study (Hwang & Weirauch 2012) who misidentified it as 'Kayanocoris wegneri'."
Gargantua and Pantagruel (1532-1564) Taxon Type Named for Notes RefGigantactis gargantua AnglerfishGargantua †Gargantuavis BirdA genus of fossil flightless birds from the Cretaceous of Europe, and the largest known birds of the Mesozoic era; "generic name from Gargantua, the giant of French folklore made famous by François Rabelais, and avis, Latin for bird"†Notoetayoa gargantuai Xenungulate mammalA fossil species of hoofed mammal from the Paleocene of Patagonia, Argentina, "Named after the literary character in François Rabelais' sixteenth century story of two eccentric giants, Gargantua and Pantagruel. In allusion to the larger size of this species compared to [its relative] Etayoa bacatensis."Epimeria gargantua Amphipod"Gargantua is a giant and one of the main characters in the tales of François Rabelais, such as La vie très horrifique du grand Gargantua, père de Pantagruel. The name [...] alludes to the huge size of the species, which is the largest known Epimeria species."
Journey to the West (c. 1592) Taxon Type Named for Notes Ref†Wukongopterus PterosaurSun WukongA fossil from the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous of China, named "Wukongopterus, from Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), one of the most famous and beloved fictional characters of the classical Chinese literature "Journey to the West", and pterus from the Greek meaning wing."Ectatosticta wukong Lampshade spiderSun WukongGenus Ectatosticta is endemic to China. "The species is named after Wukong, a character in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, noun. Journey to the West was written during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 A.D) and is about the adventures of a priest, Xuanzang, and his three disciples, Wukong, Wuneng, and Wujing, as they travel west in search of the Buddhist Sutra. Their travel begins at what is today Xi'an (near the type locality of E. davidi), via Qinghai (close to the type locality of E. deltshevi), to South Xinjiang, Tibet (near the type locality of E. xuanzang sp. nov.) and India."Ectatosticta xuanzang Lampshade spiderTang Sanzang, a fictional version of the historical XuanzangEctatosticta bajie Lampshade spiderZhu BajieEctatosticta dapeng Lampshade spiderDapeng Jinchi MingwangEctatosticta rulai Lampshade spiderRulai, a fictional version of the Buddha†Syntelia sunwukong BeetleSun WukongA fossil found in Cretaceous Burmese amber. "The species is named after "Sunwukong", the monkey king who was born from a magical rock, in the famous Chinese fiction Journey to the West. The discovery of the new species reminds the authors of the origin of Sunwukong."Salassa sunwukongi MothSun WukongThis species is native to China and "was named after the Monkey King in Chinese Mythology, for the diverse colours and monkey-face-like pattern in the hindwing"Brevistoma raksasiae SpoonwingPrincess Iron Fan"This new species is named after a fictional character "The Princess of Iron Fan (鐵扇公主)" (also known as "Râkṣasî") from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, in reference to the deeply association of the character with the Mt. Huoyanshan (meaning "Flaming Mountain"), a mountain connected to the Turpan Basin, near to the type locality of the new species. In the novel, Râkṣasî can use her magical "Iron Fan" to control the scorching and divine fire of the Flaming Mountains."Ambulyx wukong MothSun Wukong
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) Taxon Type Named for Notes RefOberonia Lindley (1859)Fairy orchidOberon, A Midsummer Night's DreamSycorax Haliday, 1839FlySycorax, The TempestPeneothello Mathews, 1920Australasian robinOthello, OthelloNamed for being almost (pene) blackPigrogromitus Calman, 1927Sea spiderPigrogromitus, Twelfth NightMalvoliophis Snake eelMalvolio, Twelfth Night"From Malvolio, Lady Olivia's steward in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, and ὄφις (ophis; masculine), serpent. The banded coloration of M. pinguis, the generic type, suggests the cross-gartered legs and yellow socks worn by Malvolio"Queubus Barnard, 1946Sea spiderQueubus, Twelfth Night"In sooth, we taxonomists are hard put to it to find names, but there have been far worse sources than the nonsense of Will Shakespeare."Cordelia Shirôzu & Yamamoto, 1956ButterflyCordelia, King LearGonerilia Shirôzu & Yamamoto, 1956ButterflyGoneril, King LearIago Compagno & Springer, 1971HoundsharkIago, Othello"This shark, a namesake of the villain of Shakespeare's Othello, is a troublemaker for systematists and hence a kind of villain."Geocharidius romeoi Ground beetleRomeo, Romeo and Juliet"Romeoi, after Shakespeare's Romeo, who in Act 1 told Benvolio, "He that is stricken blind cannot forget the precious treasure of his eyesight lost," in reference to the demise of the Central American forests and its probable impact on these blind beetles, which are restricted to deep forest humus and litter."Agra othello Erwin, 2000Ground beetleOthello, OthelloThe specific name "honors the complicated Shakespearian character whose stage image is a large male singer with a dark complexion. Agra othello is very large, black, and belongs to a formerly complicated species group"Euwalkeria perdita TreehopperPerdita, The Winter's TalePerdita desdemona BeeDesdemona, Othello"The name comes from the character in Shakespeare's Othello."Perdita hippolyta Portman, 2016Hippolyta, A Midsummer Night's Dream"The name comes from the character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream."Perdita sycorax Portman, 2016Sycorax, The Tempest"The name comes from the unseen character in Shakespeare's The Tempest."Perdita titania Portman, 2016Titania, A Midsummer Night's Dream"The name comes from the fairy queen Titania in Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. The name was chosen due to the beauty and rarity of this species."†Alfaites romeo Valent, Fatka, & Marek 2019HyolithRomeo, Romeo and Juliet"The specific epithet 'romeo' refers to the Shakespeare's protagonist Romeo Montague."Pseudotanais julietae TanaidJuliet, Romeo and JulietP. julietae and P. romeo form a pair of sister species.Pseudotanais romeo Romeo, Romeo and JulietSynagelides rosalindae Kanesharatnam & Benjamin, 2020Jumping spiderRosalind, As You Like It"The species is named after Rosalind Senior, the heroine of the play As You Like It by William Shakespeare. Generally noted for her resilience, quick wit, and beauty."Synagelides orlandoi Orlando, As You Like It"The species is named after Orlando de Bois, who at first sight falls in love with Rosalind. He is brave, chivalrous, tender, modest, smart, strong, handsome and beloved by all. However, he is unable to express his love for Rosalind, before he leaves to the forest of Arden."†Xorides romeo WaspRomeo, Romeo and Juliet
Don Quixote (1605-1615)