NINE CREATURES NAMED FOR CELEBRITIES

Some of history’s most important figures have been rewarded with mountains, cities, even states that bear their names. Stephen Colbert got a spider. The host of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central recently had a California trapdoor spider, found last year, named after him: Aptostichus stephencolberti. He’s not alone. Rocker Neil Young has a spider namesake too. In fact, it turns out that plenty of celebs have lent their name to a creature. Here are nine favorites. - Ryan E. Smith

1. Agathidium bushi. A slime-mold beetle honoring President George W. Bush. Other slime-mold beetles were named for Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Click here for the full article.

Tagged as: Agathidium bushi, Aptostichus stephencolberti, Beetles, Comedy Central, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, Neil Young, Presidents, Ryan E. Smith, Secretary of Defense, Slime-mold Beetles, Spiders, Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, Trapdoor Spiders, Vice Presidents

• Spider found in Calif. becomes Colbert’s namesake
• Three new species of snouted beetle found in Thailand
• Humane Society hopes blues night will spark buzz donations