List of organisms named after works of fiction

Newly created taxonomic names in biological nomenclature often reflect the discoverer's interests or honour those the discoverer holds in esteem, including fictional elements.^[1]^[2]^[3]

† Denotes that the organism is extinct.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Antigone antigone (Linnaeus, 1758)	Crane	Antigone	The 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"	^[4]
Saguinus oedipus (Linnaeus, 1758)	New World monkey	Oedipus 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."	^[5]
Astyanax Baird & Girard, 1854	American Tetra	Astyanax	The species was named after Astyanax (Ἀστυάναξ, "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 armor	^[6]
Pseudoeurycea rex (Dunn, 1921)	Salamander	Oedipus Rex	Species formerly named Oedipus rex	^[7]
Oedipodrilus oedipus Holt, 1967	Segmented worm	Oedipus Rex		^[8]
Amblytylus peitho Linnavuori, 1997	Leaf bug	Peitho		^[9]
Atomophora astraia Linnavuori, 1997	Leaf bug	Dike/Astraea		^[9]
Andromakhe paris (Azpelicueta, Almirón & Casciotta, 2002)	American Tetra	Paris	named for Paris (Πάρις), uncle of Astyanax, both of whom fought in the Trojan war, named for its original placement in Astyanax	^[6]
Pseudotanais gaiae Jakiel, Palero & Błażewicz, 2019	Tanaid	Gaia	P. gaiae and P. uranos form a pair of sister species.	^[10]
Pseudotanais uranos Jakiel, Palero & Błażewicz, 2019	Tanaid	Uranus	P. gaiae and P. uranos form a pair of sister species.	^[10]
†Phyllodrepa daedali Shavrin & Yamamoto, 2019	Rove beetle	Daedalus	Fossil species found in Eocene Baltic amber.	^[11]
†Phyllodrepa icari Shavrin & Yamamoto, 2019	Rove beetle	Icarus	Fossil species found in Eocene Baltic amber.	^[11]
Andromakhe Terán, Benitez & Mirande, 2020	American Tetra	Andromache	named for Andromakhe (Áνδρομάχη, "battle of men"), wife of Hector, Prince of Troy, in Greek mythology, and, in Homer's epic poem Iliad, the mother of Astyanax (Ἀστυάναξ, "city protector"), named for its relationship to and the original placement of its species in Astyanax	^[6]
Hotwheels sisyphus Liu & Zhang, 2024	Spider	Sisyphus	"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."	^[12]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
†Lokiceratops Loewen et al., 2024	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."	^[13]
†Medusaceratops lokii Ryan, Russell & Hartman, 2010	Ceratopsian dinosaur	Loki	Loki has a "helmet with [...] two giant hooks that come out of the top"	^[14]^[15]
†Joermungandr bolti Mann et al., 2021	Recumbirostran	Jörmungandr	"'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."	^[16]
†Jormungandr walhallaensis Zietlow, Boyd & van Vranken, 2023	Mosasaurid	Jörmungandr, Valhalla	The name is inspired by the discovery of the genus in the town of Walhalla, North Dakota.	^[17]
Voconia loki Castillo & Rédei & Weirauch, 2022	True bug	Loki	"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'."	^[18]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Gigantactis gargantua Bertelsen, Pietsch & Lavenberg, 1981	Anglerfish	Gargantua		^[19]
†Gargantuavis Buffetaut & Le Loeuff, 1998	Bird	Gargantua	A 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"	^[20]
†Notoetayoa gargantuai Gelfo, López & Bond, 2008	Xenungulate mammal	Gargantua	A 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."	^[21]
Epimeria gargantua d'Udekem d'Acoz & Verheye, 2017	Amphipod	Gargantua	"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."	^[22]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
†Wukongopterus Wang et al., 2009	Pterosaur	Sun Wukong	A 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."	^[23]
Ectatosticta wukong Lin & Li, 2020	Lampshade spider	Sun Wukong	Genus 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."	^[24]
Ectatosticta xuanzang Lin & Li, 2020	Lampshade spider	Tang Sanzang, a fictional version of the historical Xuanzang		^[24]
Ectatosticta bajie Lin & Li, 2021	Lampshade spider	Zhu Bajie		^[25]
Ectatosticta dapeng Lin & Li, 2021	Lampshade spider	Dapeng Jinchi Mingwang
Ectatosticta rulai Lin & Li, 2021	Lampshade spider	Rulai, a fictional version of the Buddha
†Syntelia sunwukong Jiang & Wang, 2021	Beetle	Sun Wukong	A 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."	^[26]
Salassa sunwukongi Zheng & Wang 2023	Moth	Sun Wukong	This 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"	^[27]
Brevistoma raksasiae Zheng, Ni & Liu, 2025	Spoonwing	Princess 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."	^[28]
Ambulyx wukong Jiang & Kitching, 2025	Moth	Sun Wukong		^[29]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Oberonia Lindley (1859)	Fairy orchid	Oberon, A Midsummer Night's Dream		^[30]
Sycorax Haliday, 1839	Fly	Sycorax, The Tempest		^[31]
Peneothello Mathews, 1920	Australasian robin	Othello, Othello	Named for being almost (pene) black	^[32]
Pigrogromitus Calman, 1927	Sea spider	Pigrogromitus, Twelfth Night		^[33]
Queubus Barnard, 1946	Sea spider	Queubus, 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."	^[34]
Cordelia Shirôzu & Yamamoto, 1956	Butterfly	Cordelia, King Lear		^[35]
Gonerilia Shirôzu & Yamamoto, 1956	Butterfly	Goneril, King Lear		^[35]
Iago Compagno & Springer, 1971	Houndshark	Iago, Othello	"This shark, a namesake of the villain of Shakespeare's Othello, is a troublemaker for systematists and hence a kind of villain."	^[36]
Geocharidius romeoi Erwin, 1982	Ground beetle	Romeo, 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."	^[37]
Agra othello Erwin, 2000	Ground beetle	Othello, Othello	The 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"	^[38]
Euwalkeria perdita Albertson, 2005	Treehopper	Perdita, The Winter's Tale		^[39]
Perdita desdemona Portman, 2016	Bee	Desdemona, Othello	"The name comes from the character in Shakespeare's Othello."	^[40]
Perdita hippolyta Portman, 2016		Hippolyta, A Midsummer Night's Dream	"The name comes from the character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream."
Perdita sycorax Portman, 2016		Sycorax, The Tempest	"The name comes from the unseen character in Shakespeare's The Tempest."
Perdita titania Portman, 2016		Titania, 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 2019	Hyolith	Romeo, Romeo and Juliet	"The specific epithet 'romeo' refers to the Shakespeare's protagonist Romeo Montague."	^[41]
Pseudotanais julietae Jakiel, Palero & Błażewicz, 2019	Tanaid	Juliet, Romeo and Juliet	P. julietae and P. romeo form a pair of sister species.	^[10]
Pseudotanais romeo Jakiel, Palero & Błażewicz, 2019	Tanaid	Romeo, Romeo and Juliet	P. julietae and P. romeo form a pair of sister species.	^[10]
Synagelides rosalindae Kanesharatnam & Benjamin, 2020	Jumping spider	Rosalind, 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."	^[42]
Synagelides orlandoi Kanesharatnam & Benjamin, 2020	Jumping spider	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."	^[42]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
†Hipparion rocinantis Hernández-Pacheco, 1921	Horse	Rocinante	A fossil species of primitive horse from the Pliocene of La Mancha, Spain, named "in memory of the horse that was the product of the fantasy and genius of our immortal Cervantes. [...] the name I have chosen associates the equine idea with the geographical one [...]"	^[43]
†Dulcineaia manchegana Babin & Gutiérrez-Marco, 1991	Bivalve	Dulcinea del Toboso	A fossil species of saltwater clam from the Ordovician of La Mancha, Spain.	^[44]
Oncidium dulcineae (Pupulin & G.A.Rojas) M.W.Chase & N.H.Williams	Orchid	Dulcinea del Toboso	Originally described as Sigmatostalix dulcineae and subsequently transferred to genus Oncidium	^[45]
Ardistomis quixotei Pavel Valdés, 2007	Ground beetle	Don Quixote	"a patronymic, based on the Latinized surname of the fictional Don Quijote, immortalized in the famous novel Don Quijote de la Mancha written by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and first published in 1605. This species is named to commemorate the 400th anniversary of publication of this important piece of Spanish literature."	^[46]
†Lohuecotitan pandafilandi Díez Díaz et al., 2016	Titanosaur	Pandafilando of the Scowl	"The specific name pandafilandi refers to Pandafilando de la fosca vista, one of the characters in the novel The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha (El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha) written by Miguel de Cervantes and published in the early seventeenth century. Pandafilando is, in the mind of the protagonist, a giant against whom he must fight." The character is named "Pandafilando of the Scowl" in John Ormsby's translation.	^[47]
Carex quixotiana Ben.Benítez, Martín-Bravo, Luceño & Jim.Mejías (2023)	Sedge	Don Quixote	"The species epithet, quixotiana (pronounced kee·how·tee·a·na in English) is derived from Miguel de Cervantes's (1547–1616) masterpiece Don Quixote [...], globally considered one of the best works in the history of literature, and whose number of editions and translations is only surpassed by the Bible. The setting of Don Quixote is La Mancha, the region of Spain where almost all populations of Carex quixotiana occur."	^[48]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Robinsonia DC. (1833)	Flowering plant	Robinson Crusoe	This genus is endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands, where Alexander Selkirk was shipwrecked; he was the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe.	^[49]
Hemistomia fridayi Haase & Bouchet, 1998	Freshwater snail	Friday, Robinson Crusoe	This species was found in the district of Robinson, New Caledonia.	^[50]
Oncopagurus crusoei Lemaitre, 2014	Hermit crab	Robinson Crusoe	This species is endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands, where Alexander Selkirk was shipwrecked; he was the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe.	^[51]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Salticus lilliputanus Lucas, 1846	Spider	Lilliput		^[52]
Holorusia brobdingnagia (Westwood, 1876)	Crane fly	Brobdingnag	Originally described as Tipula brobdingnagia and subsequently trasferred to genus Holorusia.	^[53]
Notobrachypterus lilliputanus Blackburn, 1892	Beetle	Lilliput	"Its extremely small size will distinguish this species from its allies"	^[54]
Echinochasmus liliputanus (Looss, 1896)	Fluke	Lilliput	"The species is extremely small and probably represents the pygmy of the genus". Originally described as Echinostomum liliputanum and subsequently transferred to genus Echinochasmus.	^[55] ^[56]
Otiorhynchus liliputanus Apfelbeck, 1908	Beetle	Lilliput	"distinguished by a smaller body"	^[57]
Scabrina liliputiana (Preston, 1909)	Snail	Lilliput	"Distinguished [...] by its extremely small size, vivid and well-marked painting and generally compact appearance." Originally described as Cyclophorus (Theobaldia) liliputiana and subsequently transferred to genus Scabrina.	^[58] ^[59]
Laputa Whitley, 1930	Filefish	Laputa		^[60]
Paracardiophorus liliputanus Fleutiaux, 1935	Beetle	Lilliput	"a curious little species"	^[61]
Blossfeldia liliputana Werderm. (1937)	Cactus	Lilliput	Smallest cactus known to science.	^[62] ^[63]
†Balnibarbi Fortey, 1974	Trilobite	Balnibarbi		^[64]
Dryadella lilliputiana Cogniaux (1978)	Orchid	Lilliput	"Many of the species names reflect their diminutive stature [...] D. lilliputiana to Gulliver's tiny captors"	^[65]
†Blefuscuiana Banner & Desai, 1988	Foraminifer	Blefuscu	A fossil genus from the Cretaceous of England; "Blefuscuiana is named in distinction from Lilliputianella n. gen. and derives its name from the miniature ovoids of Blefuscu (Swift, 1726) which were displayed at their bluntly rounded ends." Some sources synonymize this genus with Hedbergella.	^[66]
†Lilliputianella Banner & Desai, 1988	Foraminifer	Lilliput	A fossil genus from the Cretaceous of England; "The generic name Lilliputianella is derived from Lilliput (Swift, 1726) wherein organisms were of small proportions and where ovoids which displayed their pointed ends were preferred."	^[66]
†Laputavis Dyke, 2001	Swift	Laputa		^[67]
Chorebus liliputanus Fischer, Tormos, Docavo & Pardo, 2004	Wasp	Lilliput	"The name refers to the very small size of the species."	^[68]
Viola lilliputana Ballard & Iltis (2012)	Flowering plant	Lilliput	"The specific epithet makes a fanciful reference to the tiny growth form of the new species as 'lilliputian'"	^[69]
Peruphorticus gulliveri Erwin & Zamorano, 2014	Beetle	Lemuel Gulliver	"We so name this species because of its very large size in comparison to its congeners, reminding us of Gulliver's travels on the island of Lilliput."	^[70]
Meoneura lilliputensis Stuke & Freidberg, 2017	Fly	Lilliput	A tiny fly (length<2 mm) "named after the fictional island Lilliput that was introduced in the novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726). Lilliput is inhabited by tiny people, who are about one-twelfth the height of ordinary human beings."	^[71]
Anthobium liliputense Shavrin & Smetana, 2018	Beetle	Lilliput	"The specific epithet is derived from Lilliput, the fictional island with small people that appear in the novel Gulliver's Travels by the famous English writer Jonathan Swift. It refers to the very small size of the species."	^[72]
Pluteus liliputianus E.F. Malysheva & Malysheva (2019)	Fungus	Lilliput	"The epithet reflects very small, diminutive size of basidiocarps"	^[73]
Hypothenemus liliputianus Bright, 2019	Beetle	Lilliput	"Latinized form of liliputian, referring to the very small size of the female."	^[74]
Eragrostis lilliputiana R.L.Barrett & P.M.Peterson	Grass	Lilliput	A replacement name for Heterachne gulliveri Benth., an Australian species, when it was reclassified in genus Eragrostis. "The epithet 'gulliveri' is unavailable in Eragrostis, being preoccupied by Eragrostis gulliveri (F.Muell.) R.L.Barrett & P.M.Peterson. Originally named after collector Thomas A. Gulliver [...], the replacement epithet is based on the adventures of Lemuel Gulliver on the island of Lilliput (Swift 1726), located 'north-west of Van Diemen's Land' and, hence, logically part of what is now Australia. A tale of adventure in unknown lands, Swift's book captures the adventure and trepidation that Thomas Gulliver might have experienced while exploring northern Queensland in the 1870s with the Telegraph Department."	^[75]
Matelea lilliputiana Díaz-Mota, L.O. Alvarado & Pio-León	Milkvine	Lilliput	"The specific epithet refers to the small flowers of this plant and is associated with the tiny characters of Lilliput, from the novel Gulliver's Travels by the writer Jonathan Swift. This plant has the smallest flowers within the Matelea genus in Mexico."	^[76]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
†Ozymandias (Jordan, 1907)	Ray-finned fish	"Ozymandias"	A fossil from the Miocene of California, USA. It was a large specimen described from very scant remains, hence "The generic name refers to the heroic giant noticed by Shelley, of whom nothing is known save the feet of his gigantic statue in the desert." Jordan initially thought it could be a relative of the louvar, but later reclassified it into the family Scombridae which includes tuna and mackerel.	^[77] ^[78] ^[79]
†Ophiodon ozymandias Jordan, 1921	Greenling	"Ozymandias"	A fossil from the Miocene of California, USA. The specimen was originally attributed to genus Ozymandias, but subsequently reclassified as a species of lingcod, and the word "Ozymandias" was repurposed as the specific name.	^[80] ^[79]
†Ozymandipteryx Schall, Cao & Husemann M, 2025	Pygmy mole cricket	"Ozymandias"	A fossil mud cricket found in Cretaceous Burmese amber, "Named after Ozymandias, a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1818) about the loss of greatness and forgetting of glory by the passing of time. It refers to the state of absent/very reduced metatarsi in the genus"	^[81]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Paracalanus quasimodo Bowman, 1971	Copepod	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"The name is derived from the protagonist of Victor Hugo's classic novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, and alludes to the distinctive shape of the prosome."	^[82]
Stylaclista quasimodo Early, 1980	Wasp	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"Stylaclista quasimodo can be recognised by its strongly humped scutellum (hence the name), setation of the head and mesosoma, and the scarcity of setae between the epomia."	^[83]
Tetragnatha quasimodo Gillespie, 1992	Long-jawed orb weaver	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"The common name of this species is "Humpback Spiny", because of the prominent mid-dorsal peak of the abdomen. The specific epithet, regarded as a noun in apposition, refers to Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre-Dame."	^[84]
Agra eponine Erwin, 2000	Ground beetle	Éponine, Les Misérables	"The specific epithet, eponine, is the name of the unfortunate street urchin in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, who, in the Broadway version of the story, personified tragic beauty. Such is the state of the tropical forests where these beetles live"	^[38]
Schistura quasimodo Kottelat, 2000	Stone loach	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	The body of this species "sometimes [shows] a conspicuous hump".	^[85]
Paradynomene quasimodo McLay & Ng, 2004	Crab	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"The name is derived from Victor Hugo's character, Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre-Dame; alluding to its tumescent, hunchback carapace shape."	^[86]
Pseudione quasimodo Boyko & Williams, 2004	Isopod	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"The specific name quasimodo is derived from Victor Hugoʼs famous bell-ringer of Notre-Dame, most famously portrayed in film by the great Lon Chaney (1883–1930). This appellation is appropriate due to the shape of the female isopod and the bulge it creates in the branchial chamber of the host"	^[87]
Neopantopsalis quasimodo Taylor & Hunt, 2009	Harvestman	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame		^[88]
Harpirhynchus quasimodo Bochkov & Mertins, 2010	Mite	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"Anterior part of propodonotal shield bearing hump-like projection..."	^[89]
Quasimodorogas Quicke & Butcher, 2011	Wasp	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame		^[90]
Apseudes quasimodo Błażewicz-Paszkowycz & Bamber, 2012	Tanaid	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"Named after Quasimodo, a central character from French author Victor Hugo's 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris, who also had a distinctive dorsal hump."	^[91]
Selenoribates quasimodo Pfingstl, 2013	Mite	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"This appellation is due to the hunchback of this species shown in lateral view (that does not necessarily mean the species is as ugly as the bell-ringer was supposed to be)."	^[92]
Chaleponcus quasimodo Enghoff, 2014	Millipede	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame		^[93]
Ephemeroporus quasimodo Elmoor-Loureiro, 2014	Water flea	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"clearly differs from all other species of the genus in the high dorsal keel (hunchback)".	^[94]
Temnothorax quasimodo Snelling, Borowiec & Prebus, 2014	Ant	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"named for the Victor Hugo character in his novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. [...] The short, deep mesosoma with distinctly convex dorsum results in a "hunched" profile that is characteristic for this species".	^[95]
Squalus quasimodo Viana, Carvalho & Gomes, 2016	Dogfish shark	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"Named for the hunchback of Notre-Dame from the 19th Century novel by Victor Hugo, in obvious reference to its most noticeable character" — "body conspicuously robust and humped dorsally".	^[96]
Epimeria quasimodo d'Udekem d'Acoz & Verheye, 2017	Amphipod	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre-Dame, is a well-known character from the novel Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo. The name [...] alludes to the humpbacked silhouette of the species."	^[22]
Haplochromis quasimodo Vranken et al., 2022	Cichlid fish	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	"Specific name from Quasimodo, hunchbacked character in Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame de Paris (1831); referring to rather shallow head and deep and rhomboid bodies of large specimens."	^[97]
Mecolaesthus quasimodo Huber, 2023	Spider	Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame	This species features a "strongly inflated" carapace and "is named after Victor Hugo's fictional character and main protagonist of the novel Notre-Dame de Paris, Quasimodo, who had a severe hunchback"	^[98]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Schistura aramis Kottelat, 2000	Stone loach	Aramis		^[85]
Schistura athos Kottelat, 2000		Athos
Schistura porthos Kottelat, 2000		Porthos
Spongiopsyllus aramisi Farias, Santana, Neves & Jonsson, 2024	Copepod	Aramis	The tapered morphology of leg 1 endopodal segments of these 3 species, showing sharpened processes, inspired naming them after the swordsmen from The Three Musketeers.	^[99]
Spongiopsyllus athosi Farias, Santana, Neves & Jonsson, 2024		Athos
Spongiopsyllus porthosi Farias, Santana, Neves & Jonsson, 2024		Porthos

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Daggoo Sime & Wahl, 2002	Wasp	Daggoo	"The genus is named after one of the harpooners in Melville's novel Moby-Dick."	^[100]
Queequeg Sime & Wahl, 2002	Wasp	Queequeg
Tashtego Sime & Wahl, 2002	Wasp	Tashtego
†Thaleops mobydicki Amati & Westrop, 2004	Trilobite	Moby Dick	"At times, the senior author's analysis of relationships among illaenid trilobites felt like Ahab's pursuit of the Great White Whale."	^[101]
Voeltzkowia mobydick (Miralles et al, 2012)	Skink	Moby Dick	"The specific epithet refers to Moby Dick, the famous albino sperm whale imagined by Herman Melville (1851), with whom the new species shares several uncommon characteristics, such as the lack of hindlimbs, the presence of flipper-like forelimbs, highly reduced eyes, and the complete absence of pigmentation" Originally described as Sirenoscincus mobydick and subsequently transferred to genus Voeltzkowia.	^[102]
†Albicetus oxymycterus Boersma & Pyenson, 2015	Toothed whale	Moby Dick	"Combining the Latin words albus (white) and cetus (whale). The name pays tribute to H. Melville's classic American novel Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. In the novel, Melville refers to Moby Dick as "the White Whale", a creature of "unwonted magnitude" with a "remarkable hue" and "deformed lower jaw". These traits are coincidentally similar to the type specimen of Albicetus, a white fossil sperm whale whose jaws have been displaced due to diagenetic processes."	^[103]
Vrijenhoekia ahabi Summers, Pleijel & Rouse, 2015	Segmented worm	Captain Ahab	"Ahabi is in reference to Herman Melville's Captain Ahab, as both he and this species of worm will go to the ends of the earth to find a whale. This name was a winner of a 'Name a Species' public contest organised by Birch Aquarium, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, submitted by Andy Fyfe."	^[104]
Cryptotermes mobydicki Scheffrahn, 2025	Termite	Moby Dick	"The lateral view of the soldier frontal process and elongate head [...] resembles the head of a sperm whale. Both organisms have mandibles eclipsed by the head, and the whale eye and soldier's antennal socket are comparatively positioned."	^[105]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
†Borogovia gracilicrus Osmólska, 1987	Theropod dinosaur	Borogove, "Jabberwocky"	Named after the "borogove — the name of a fantastic creature from "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll"	^[106]
†Hemignathus vorpalis James & Olsen, 2003	Finch	Vorpal blade, "Jabberwocky"	Named "in reference to the long scimitar-like maxillary rostrum of the bird"	^[107]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
"Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator" Chivian et al., 2008	Bacteria	"Audax viator", Journey to the Center of the Earth	"[I]n Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, in a message [...] deciphered by Verne's protagonist, Professor Lidenbrock, which reads in part, 'descende, Audax viator, et terrestre centrum attinges.' It means 'descend, Bold traveler, and attain the center of the Earth.'"	^[108] ^[109]
Georissus nemo Fikáček, Delgado & Gentili, 2012	Beetle	Captain Nemo	"The species name refers to Captain Nemo, a fictional character of two novels by Jules Verne, who lived underseas (in a submarine Nautilus), hence in an environment unusual for a human. This resembles specimens of Georissus nemo sp. nov. collected in 2010 which were found underwater, in an environment unusual for this genus."	^[110]
Testacella lidenbrocki Quintana, 2022	Slug	Otto Lidenbrock, Journey to the Center of the Earth	"Due to its hypogeous habits, the species is dedicated to Professor Otto Lidenbrock, a fictional character created by Jules Verne in his work Journey to the Centre of the Earth."	^[111]
Munidopsis nemo Rodríguez-Flores, 2025	Squat lobster	Captain Nemo	"The new species is named after the charismatic character in Jules Verne's novel, Captain Nemo. This character inspired me like many other children to pursue a career in marine biology."	^[112]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Phanuromyia pauper Nesheim and Masner, 2017	Wasp	The Prince and the Pauper	"The name pauper refers to the lack of longitudinal costae on the base of T2."	^[113]
Phanuromyia princeps Nesheim and Masner, 2017	Wasp	The Prince and the Pauper	"The name princeps is derived from the prince character in the book The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain in reference to its similarity to P. pauper."	^[113]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Walckenaeria pinocchio (Kaston, 1945)	Spider	Pinocchio	"From all other known species this one can be distinguished by its very long cephalic horn." Originally described as Cornicularia pinocchio; subsequently, genus Cornicularia was synonymised with Walckenaeria.	^[114]^[115]
Masdevallia pinocchio Luer & Andreeta, 1978	Orchid	Pinocchio	"Named for Pinocchio, the long-nosed, wooden puppet that wanted to be a little boy", because of the appearance of the flowers.	^[116]
Oxypleurodon pinocchio (Guinot & Richer de Forges, 1985)	Crab	Pinocchio	"the long and "turned-up" rostrum of this species recall [sic] to mind the long and snub nose of the mischievious [sic] Pinocchio." Originally described as Sphenocarcinus pinocchio, and subsequently transferred to genus Oxypleurodon.	^[117]
†Pinocchiodinium Torricelli, 2000	Dinocyst	Pinocchio	A fossil from the Cretaceous of Italy; "the single lateral horn (or process) resembles Pinoccio's famous nose."	^[118]
Platymamersopsis pinocchio Goldschmidt, 2008	Water mite	Pinocchio	This species has a "keel-like extended rostrum" and is named "referring to the Italian fairytale figure, famous for its long nose."	^[119]
Uroptychus pinocchio Poore & Andreakis, 2011	Squat lobster	Pinocchio	"For Pinocchio, a wooden puppet that dreamt of becoming a real boy in the 1883 novel Le avventure di Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. Pinocchio's nose grew longer when he told lies." This species belongs to the Uroptychus naso complex, distinctive for their particularly long and broad rostrum.	^[120]
Eviota pinocchioi Greenfield & Winterbottom, 2012	Dwarfgoby	Pinocchio	"Named after Carlo Collodi's fictional character Pinocchio, who had a nose that grew long when he lied, alluding to the exceptionally long anterior tubular nares in this species."	^[121]
Anchylorhynchus pinocchio De Madeiros & Nunez-Avellaneda, 2013	Weevil	Pinocchio	"Named after the popular fictional character Pinocchio, because of the extremely elongate rostrum as compared to other species of the genus."	^[122]
Monodelphis pinocchio Pavan, 2015	Short-tailed opossum	Pinocchio	"The specific epithet is a noun in apposition and refers to the fictional wooden doll [...], in allusion to the elongated rostrum shared by this species and its namesake."	^[123]
Pinocchia Dvořák et al, 2015	Cyanobacterium	Pinocchio	"Generic epithet refers to the elongated cells, especially to terminal cells. Pinocchio is a popular character from an Italian fairy tale (by Carlo Collodi), who had longer nose [sic] when telling lies"	^[124]
Litoria pinocchio Oliver et al, 2019	Frog	Pinocchio	Males have a "distinct rostral spike" and is named in "reference to Carlo Collodi's fictional character Pinocchio, who had a nose that became longer when under stress or lying."	^[125]
Pinoquio Carvalho & Huber, 2022	Spider	Pinocchio	A genus of Brazilian cellar spiders; "The generic name is taken from Carlo Collodi's fictional character, as written in Portuguese, whose famous nose reminds of the projecting clypeus in the type species". This genus was originally named Pinocchio Huber & Carvalho, 2019, but this name turned out to be a junior homonym that had been used before, for the harvestman genus Pinocchio Mello-Leitão, 1940 (now considered a synonym of Bresslauius Mello-Leitão, 1935). Therefore, the genus name was amended to Pinoquio.	^[126]^[127]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
†Irritator challengeri Martill, et al., 1996	Theropod dinosaur	Professor Challenger, The Lost World	Named after "Professor Challenger, the fictitious hero and dinosaur discoverer of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's [The] Lost World"	^[128]
Mandevilla sherlockii L.O.Alvarado & Lozada-Pérez (2017)	Rocktrumpet	Sherlock Holmes	"The name is dedicated to the fictional character Sherlock Holmes [who] reflects much of the work of taxonomists and scientists in general, which is entirely detective work. Additionally, he was conceived as an amateur botanist, mainly interested in plants that can be used as poisons"	^[129]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Ref
Akela Peckham & Peckham, 1896	Jumping spider	Akela, The Jungle Book	^[130]
Bagheera kiplingi Peckham & Peckham, 1896	Jumping spider	Bagheera and Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book
Messua Peckham & Peckham, 1896	Jumping spider	Messua, The Jungle Book
Nagaina Peckham & Peckham, 1896	Jumping spider	Nagaina, "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Garra cyrano Kottelat, 2000	Log sucker fish	Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano de Bergerac (play)	"From Cyrano de Bergerac, the main character in a comedy of Edmond Rostand, characterized by a long nose"; this species has a "snout with a conspicuous, deeply notched secondary rostrum with large tubercles"	^[85]
Eremobates cyranoi Cushing & Brookhart, 2016	Camel spider	Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano de Bergerac (play)	"Referencing the twisted upturned fixed finger reminiscent of the reputed nose of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac."	^[131]
Epimeria cyrano d'Udekem d'Acoz & Verheye, 2017	Amphipod	Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano de Bergerac (play)	"Cyrano de Bergerac is the central character of the eponymous play by Edmond Rostand. In the play, Cyrano is described as endowed with a prominent nose. The name [...] alludes to the long, straight and anteriorly directed rostrum of the species."	^[22]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
†Bradycneme draculae Harrison & Walker, 1975	Theropod dinosaur	Count Dracula	"The specific name is derived from the Romanian word dracul meaning evil one." The fossil was discovered in Transylvania, the setting of Bram Stoker's Dracula.	^[132]
Dracula vampira Luer (1978)	Orchid	Count Dracula		^[133]
Liparis draculoides Greenwood (1982)	Orchid	Count Dracula		^[134]
†Desmodus draculae Morgan, Linares and Ray, 1988	Bat	Count Dracula	"The specific epithet of this largest known chiropteran vampire commemorates Count Dracula, the greatest human vampire of folklore"	^[135]
Draculoides bramstokeri Harvey & Humphreys, 1995	Whip scorpion	Count Dracula, Bram Stoker	"The generic name alludes to another toothed creature"	^[136]
Danionella dracula Britz, Conway & Rüber, 2009	Ray-finned fish	Count Dracula	"The species name dracula alludes to the long tooth-like fangs in the jaws in males of the new species and was inspired by Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's novel."	^[137]
†Deinocroton draculi Peñalver, et al, 2017	Tick	Count Dracula	"Patronym for the main character of the gothic horror novel by Irish writer Abraham "Bram" Stoker, which is a fictionalised account of Vlad III, or Vlad Dracula"	^[138]
†Supraserphites draculi Rasnitsyn & Öhm-Kühnle, 2019	Wasp	Count Dracula	"Species name derived from dracul, Romanian for devil, and the literary figure Count Dracula"	^[139]
Patrera dracula Martínez, Brescovit, Villarreal & Oliveira, 2021	Spider	Count Dracula	"The epithet in apposition referring to the mythological vampire Dracula, alluding to the large chelicerae, which resemble Dracula's fangs."	^[140]
Bensonella dracula Gojšina, Hunyadi & Páll-Gergely, 2025	Snail	Count Dracula	"Two strong palatal tubercles of this species resemble teeth of a vampire."	^[141]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Tinkerbella nana Huber & Noyes, 2013	Fairyfly	Tinker Bell and Nana	"After the fairy Tinker Bell in the 1904 play 'Peter Pan' by J.M. Barrie [and] the dog Nana in Peter Pan and coincidentally from nanos, the Greek word for dwarf."	^[142]
Ischnothyreus hooki Kranz-Baltensperger, 2011	Goblin spider	Captain Hook	"The specific name is derived from Captain Hook from the novel Peter Pan, written by James M. Barrie, and refers to the similarity of the distal part of the male palp with the left arm of Captain Hook."	^[143]
Meoneura tinkerbellae Stucke, 2016	Fly	Tinker Bell	"Tinker Bell is a long haired and very small fairy as Meoneura tinkerbellae is a very small, hardly visible fly with characteristically long setulae on tergite 5."	^[144]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Boagrius silindui Benjamin, 2024	Spider	Silindu	Three palp-footed spider species endemic to Sri Lanka, named after characters of The Village in the Jungle by Leonard Woolf, published in 1913, based on his experiences as a civil servant in Sri Lanka.	^[145]
Steriphopus hinnihamiae Benjamin, 2024		Hinnihami
Steriphopus punchimenikae Benjamin, 2024		Punchi Menika

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Pimoa cthulhu Hormiga, 1994	Spider	Cthulhu	"Named after H.P. Lovecraft's mythological deity Cthulhu, akin to the powers of Chaos"	^[146]
†Millerocaulis tekelili Vera (2012)	Fern	"Tekeli-li"	"The specific epithet derives from the word Tekeli-li, pronounced by fictional Antarctic inhabitants in the book 'The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket' by Edgar [Allan] Poe and in the book 'At the [M]ountains of [M]adness' by Howard Phillips Lovecraft.	^[147]
Nanocthulhu lovecrafti Buffington, 2012	Wasp	Cthulhu, H. P. Lovecraft	"Cthulhu's [sic] is described as having 'a pulpy, tentacled head,' and the clypeal fuscina described herein is reminiscent of Cthulhu's head"	^[148]
Cthulhu macrofasciculumque James & Keeling, 2012	Parabasalid	Cthulhu	"The tentacle-headed appearance given by the coordinated beat pattern of the anterior flagellar bundle of Cthulhu cells is reminiscent of this demon"	^[149]
Cthylla microfasciculumque James & Keeling, 2012	Parabasalid	Cthylla	Cthylla "was the secret daughter of Cthulhu [...] It is here named as a smaller and simpler relative of the parabasalian genus Cthulhu"	^[149]
Ochyrocera atlachnacha Brescovit et al., 2018	Spider	Atlach-Nacha	The specific name "refers to Atlach-Nacha, a supernatural entity from Cthulhu mythology that resembles a huge spider with an almost human face"	^[150]
Yogsothoth Shishkin & Zlatogursky, 2018	Centrohelid	Yog-Sothoth	Yog-Sothoth "was described as a conglomeration of glowing spheres". The genus is in the family Yogsothothidae.	^[151]
†Sollasina cthulhu Rahman et al., 2019	Echinoderm	Cthulhu mythos	"Named for the Cthulhu mythos of H. P. Lovecraft, a fictional universe populated with bizarre tentacled monsters"	^[152]
Fujuriphyes dagon Cepeda, Pardos, Zeppilli & Sánchez, 2020	Mud dragon	Dagon (Cthulhu Mythos)	"The species is named after the fictional deity Dagon (also known as Father Dagon), created by the American writer of horror fiction H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) and firstly introduced in the short story "Dagon," published in 1919. In the pantheon of Lovecraftian cosmic entities, Dagon presides over the Deep Ones, an amphibious humanoid race indigenous to Earth's oceans."	^[153]
Fujuriphyes hydra Cepeda, Pardos, Zeppilli & Sánchez, 2020	Mud dragon	Hydra (Cthulhu Mythos)	"The species is named after the fictional deity Hydra (also known as Mother Hydra), created by the American writer of cosmic horror fiction H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) and firstly introduced in the short story The Shadow over Innsmouth, published in 1936. In the pantheon of Lovecraftian cosmic entities, Mother Hydra is the consort of Father Dagon."
Fujuriphyes cthulhu Cepeda, Pardos, Zeppilli & Sánchez, 2020	Mud dragon	Cthulhu	"The species is named after the fictional cosmic entity Cthulhu, created by the American writer of horror fiction H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) and firstly introduced in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu," published in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pantheon of Lovecraftian cosmic entities, Cthulhu is a gigantic being of great power described as looking like an octopus or a dragon that lies in a death-like torpor in the sunken city of R'lyeh."

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Eeyorius hutchinsi Paulin, 1986	Ray-finned fish	Eeyore	"Named for Eeyore, a literary character who lived in damp places."	^[154]
Potamalpheops tigger Yeo & Ng, 1997	Shrimp	Tigger	Named after Tigger to reference "the bold striped appearance of freshly caught live specimens".	^[155]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Ituglanis macunaima Datovo & Landim, 2005	Catfish	Macunaíma	"From the modernist Brazilian masterpiece by Mário de Andrade – "Macunaíma: o herói sem nenhum caráter" – meaning the hero without any character, in reference of the absence of any exclusive (taxonomic) character for the new species. Mário de Andrade's Macunaíma was based in folk Amazonian indian myth, and also presents infantile features, in allusion to the paedomorphic characters of the new species."	^[156]
Neotropiella macunaimae Queiroz, Da Silveira & De Mendonça, 2013	Springtail	Macunaíma	A species from Brazil named "After the book Macunaíma, written by the Brazilian author Mário de Andrade in 1928. The book narrates a surreal and comic story about the homonymous character, Macunaíma, and represents the multicultural aspects of Brazilian life."	^[157]
Eucampesmella macunaima Bouzan, Iniesta, Pena-Barbosa & Brescovit, 2021	Millipede	Macunaíma, Macunaíma	A species from Brazil named as "a reference to the Brazilian literature character "Macunaíma" from the book "Macunaíma: O herói sem nenhum caráter" written by Mário de Andrade."	^[158]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Pseudolucia aureliana Bálint & Johnson, 1993	Butterfly	"The Aurelian"	"Named from Nabokov's short story 'The Aurelian' in which a devoted butterfly collector is unable to fulfill his dream of journeying to the tropics."	^[159]
Pseudolucia charlotte Bálint & Johnson, 1993	Butterfly	Charlotte Haze, Lolita	"Named for 'Charlotte Haze' Lolita's mother in Nabokov's novel Lolita."
Pseudolucia clarea Bálint & Johnson, 1993	Butterfly	Charlotte Haze, Lolita	"Named for 'Clare Quilty', the rival of Lolita's paramour 'Humbert' in Nabokov's novel Lolita."
Pseudolucia hazeorum Bálint & Johnson, 1993	Butterfly	Haze family, Lolita	"A double meaning, the denotative of 'haze' referring to the dark wing bands characterizing the species, but signifying also Nabokov's characters of the Haze family in Lolita-- the infamous Lolita and her mother Charlotte."
Pseudolucia zembla Bálint & Johnson, 1993	Butterfly	Zembla, Pale Fire	"Named for the mythical kingdom 'Zembla' claimed to have been ruled by Nabokov's character Kinbote in the novel Pale Fire."
Itylos pnin Bálint, 1993	Butterfly	Timofey Pavlovich Pnin, Pnin	The species is "named for the Russian emigre professor in Nabokov's novel Pnin."	^[160]
Madeleinea lolita Bálint, 1993	Butterfly	Lolita	"Named for 'Lolita', the nickname of the Nabokov's best-known character— the pre-teen nymphet Dolores in the well-known novel Lolita."
Madeleinea mashenka Bálint, 1993	Butterfly	Mashen'ka, the Russian title of Mary	"'Mashenka' (Mary) was the title of the first novel published by Nabokov in Russian."
Paralycaeides shade Bálint, 1993	Butterfly	John Shade, Pale Fire	The species is "named for 'John Shade', the imaginary New England poet and author of Nabokov's Pale Fire."
Nabokovia ada Bálint & Johnson, 1994	Butterfly	Ada Veen, Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle		^[161]
Madeleinea cobaltana Bálint & Lamas, 1994	Butterfly	Kobaltana, Pale Fire		^[162]
Madeleinea nodo Bálint & Johnson, 1994	Butterfly	Nodo, Pale Fire	"Named for 'Nodo', half-brother of Odon, signifying the sister relationship with M. odon and the fact that, of the two, 'Nodo' occurs geographically to the [no]rth."	^[163]
Madeleinea odon Bálint & Johnson, 1994	Butterfly	Odon, Pale Fire	"Named for 'Odon', half brother of Nodo and further suggesting the interesting diversity of the koa Species Group."
Madeleinea tintarrona Bálint & Johnson, 1994	Butterfly	Tintarron, Pale Fire	"From Nabokov's 'Tintarron', a precious deep blue glass made in the mountains of Zembla, here referring to the dorsal ground color of this species"
Leptotes krug Bálint et al., 1995	Butterfly	Adam Krug, Bend Sinister	Named for "the 'unfortunate professor' Krug in Vladimir Nabokov's novel Bend Sinister [...] 'krug' also means 'circle' in Russian. [The] ventral maculation in this genus includes circles or ellipses of white which enclose patches of brown ground color."	^[164]
Leptotes delalande Bálint et al., 1995	Butterfly	Pierre Delalande, Invitation to a Beheading	"Named for 'Delalande', a philosopher invented by Nabokov as his alter-ego, here reflecting the sister relationship of this new species with L. lamasi."	^[164]
Pseudolucia humbert Bálint & Johnson, 1995	Butterfly	"Humbert Humbert", Lolita	"Named from Humbert, a central character in Nabokov's novel Lolita. We refrain here from adding the genitive 'i' since the character was imaginary and obviously masculine."	^[165]
Pseudolucia zina Benyamini, Bálint & Johnson, 1995	Butterfly	Zina Mertz, The Gift	"Zina is perhaps the closest Nabokov came to placing his own wife, Vera, into his fictions. In brief, Zina is the most ideal of all Nabokov's female characters."	^[166]
Patalycaeides hazelea Bálint and Johnson, 1995	Butterfly	Hazel Shade, Pale Fire	"[T]he name is after Shade's daughter Hazel, in Nabokov's Pale Fire, whose suicide is at [the] center of Shade's poem and who turns up, after her death and just before Shade's, in the form of a butterfly."	^[167]
Madeleinea ardisensis Bálint & Lamas, 1996	Butterfly	Ardis Hall, Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle		^[168]
Plebejus ardis Bálint & Johnson, 1997	Butterfly	Ardis Hall, Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle	"Dr. Proffer notes that 'Ardis' was the name of the great estate ('Ardis Hall') in Nabokov's novel Ada, where Van and Ada (Nabokov's only lepidopterist heroine) began their life-long love affair."	^[169]
Plebejus pilgram Bálint & Johnson, 1997	Butterfly	Paul Pilgram, "The Aurelian"	Dr. Simon Karlinsk: "'Pilgram' was the protagonist in Nabokov's story 'The Aurelian' The German owner of a butterfly shop, he dreamed all his life of hunting butterflies in exotic locales but, as he was about to realize his dreams, died of a heart attack."	^[169]
Plebejus pilgram Bálint & Lamas, 1998	Butterfly	Mira Belochkin, Pnin	"Gayla Diment [...] proposed 'Mira', the first name of Pnin's beloved who died in a Nazi camp. It is fitting that a butterfly, often representing the human soul, should bear her name."	^[170]
Plebejus fyodor Hsu, Bálint & Johnson, 2000	Butterfly	Fyodor Godunov-Cherdyntsev, The Gift	"Fyodor narrates Nabokov's novel The Gift, a record of his love of Russian literature, his lepidopterist father, butterflies, and a young woman named Zina."	^[171]
Humbert humberti Sime & Wahl, 2002	Wasp	"Humbert Humbert", Lolita	"The genus is after the hapless Humbert Humbert of Nabokov's novel, Lolita"	^[100]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Cavisternum bom Ranasinghe & Benjamin, 2018	Goblin spider	Bom, "The Goblins Looking-Glass"	"This specific name is a noun in apposition named after 'Bom' a magnificent goblin in the story of 'The Goblins Looking-Glass' by Enid Blyton (1947)."	^[172]
Pelicinus tumpy Ranasinghe & Benjamin, 2018		Tumpy, "The Goblins Looking-Glass"	"This species is a noun in apposition named after 'Tumpy' a little goblin in the story, The Goblins Looking-Glass by Blyton (1947)."
Pelicinus snooky Ranasinghe & Benjamin, 2018		Snooky, "The Firework Goblins"	"This species a noun in apposition named after 'Snooky' a goblin and a main character in the story 'The Firework Goblins' written by Blyton in 1971."
Ischnothyreus chippy Ranasinghe & Benjamin, 2018		Chippy, "Billy's Little Boats"	"This species name is a noun in apposition named after 'Chippy' a brownie and one of the characters in the story 'Billy's Little Boats' by Blyton (1971). Brownies possess queer little pointed feet like goblins."
Silhouettella snippy Ranasinghe & Benjamin, 2018		Snippy, "Billy's Little Boats"	"This species is a noun in apposition named after 'Snippy' a brownie and one of the characters in the story 'Billy's Little Boats' by Blyton in 1971."
Silhouettella tiggy Ranasinghe & Benjamin, 2018		Tiggy, "Billy's Little Boats"	"This species is a noun in apposition named after "Tiggy" a brownie and one of the characters in the story 'Billy's Little Boats' by Blyton in 1971."

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Lasioseius gabrielae Santos & Argolo, 2018	Mite	Gabriela, Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon	The type locality (Ilhéus) is very close to Jorge Amado's birthplace, Itabuna, both in the state of Bahia, Brazil. A closely related species was concurrently named Lasioseius jorgeamadoi in the writer's honor.	^[173]
Forcepsioneura gabriela Pimenta, Pinto & Takiya, 2019	Damselfly	Gabriela, Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon	"after the strong female character of the famous novel Gabriela, cravo e canela by Brazilian writer Jorge Amado. The novel is set in the region of the type locality at the beginning of the 20th century, when the southern coast of Bahia prospered from the exploitation of cacao trees."	^[174]
Eucampesmella pedrobala Bouzan, Iniesta, Pena-Barbosa & Brescovit, 2021	Millipede	Pedro Bala, Captains of the Sands	A species from Brazil named as "a reference to the Brazilian literature character "Pedro Bala" from the book "Capitães da Areia" written by Jorge Amado."	^[158]
†Tietasaura Bandeira et al., 2024	Dinosaur	Tieta	"The generic epithet is a combination of Tieta (nickname for Antonieta in Portuguese) and -saura (σαύρα), the genitive form of -saurus and meaning lizard in ancient Greek. The name Tieta honours the main character from the homonymous novel Tieta do Agreste by the famous author Jorge Amado, who was born in Bahia and lived in Salvador City [the type locality]. The name Antonieta further means 'priceless', alluding to the value of Tietasaura derbyiana sp. nov. as the first nominal ornithischian species from Brazil."	^[175]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Ceroptres demerzelae Nastasi, Smith & Davis, 2024	Gall wasp	Demerzel	"Named for Demerzel, an android who serves as the loyal aide to the Emperors of the Galaxy in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series as well as the recent television adaptation. In the television series, she fulfills a role similar to that of an inquiline, appearing to act in the best interest of one of the emperors, only to later usurp the emperors' authority."	^[176]
Ceroptres mallowi Nastasi, Smith & Davis, 2024	Gall wasp	Hober Mallow	"Named for Hober Mallow, a character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation franchise who is portrayed as a trickster who plays an essential role in orchestrating an uprising against the oppressive Empire."	^[176]

Greek mythology

Norse mythology

Arthur Conan Doyle

Rudyard Kipling

Peter Pan

J. R. R. Tolkien

Harry Potter

Other literature

Other comics

Disney and Pixar

Star Wars

Other films

Sesame Street and The Muppets

Other television series

Galaga

Super Mario

The Legend of Zelda

Street Fighter

Pokémon

BioShock

Other games

Related Articles

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Rugitermes ursulae Casalla, Scheffrahn & Korb, 2021	Termite	Úrsula Iguarán, One Hundred Years of Solitude	This species is native to Colombia. "Ursulae derived from a diminutive of the Latin ursa, which means "little bear", in line with the small size of the species. Ursula is also the name of José Arcadio Buendía's wife in the novel One hundred years of solitude written by Gabriel García Márquez and represents an apology/symbolism for the spiritual engine, entrepreneurship, and hard and silent work of many women around the world."	^[177]
Paratropis aurelianoi Tauber, Perafán, & Pérez-Miles, 2025	Spider	Aureliano Buendía, One Hundred Years of Solitude	"in honor of Aureliano Buendía, the main character of Cien Años de Soledad the famous novel of Gabriel García Márquez, born in Aracataca, Magdalena, the Department where the species was found."	^[178]
Lepanthes nasariana J.S.Moreno & Hazzi	Orchid	Santiago Nasar, Chronicle of a Death Foretold	This species is native to Colombia. "The name was chosen in allusion to the character's tragic fate—unaware of the threats around him, he is doomed to die prematurely. This mirrors the situation of the newly described species: although it may appear stable today, its extinction is predicted in the near future. The species is expected to undergo a "foretold death" due to the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events, driven by anthropogenic acceleration of climate change. While climate has always fluctuated naturally, it is the unprecedented speed and magnitude of current shifts—caused by human activity—that now pose a critical threat to biodiversity."	^[179]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Synothele arrakis Raven, 1994	Spider	Arrakis	"A noun taken from the Frank Herbert novel, Dune, in which the desert planet is known as Arrakis. Sands of the desert planet yield a 'spice' which changes the eye colour in users to deep blue. The anterior median eyes of the types have a deep blue colour, unusual in spider eyes."	^[180]
†Arrakiscolex Leibach et al., 2021	Palaeoscolecid	Arrakis, sandworms	A fossil from the Cambrian of Utah, USA. "The name refers to the fictional planet of Arrakis in the novel 'Dune' by Frank Herbert, which is inhabited by a species of armoured worm."	^[181]
Lycosa gesserit Steinpress et al., 2022	Spider	Bene Gesserit	"Species named after the order of Bene Gesserit, from Frank Herbert's 1965 novel, Dune."	^[182]
†Shaihuludia Kimmig et al., 2023	Polychaete	Sandworms	A fossil from the Cambrian of Utah, USA. "Shai-Hulud: the indigenous name for the sandworms on the planet Arrakis in the Dune novels written by Frank Herbert." One of the authors, Rhiannon LaVine, said "It was the first thing that came to mind, because I'm a big ol' nerd and at the time I was getting really excited for the 'Dune' movies."	^[183] ^[184]
Scherotheca shaihulud Marchán & Decaëns, 2023	Earthworm	Sandworms	"The species name is derived from the fictional giant sandworm Shai Hulud, from the science fiction novel Dune written by Frank Herbert."	^[185]
Tulostoma shaihuludii Finy et al., 2023	Fungus	Sandworms	"Reminiscent of the sandworm Shai-Hulud of the fictional planet Arrakis from the science fiction novel series Dune by Frank Herbert."	^[186]
Arrakis Robillard, Tan & Su, 2024	Cricket	Arrakis	"The genus is named after the fictional desert planet featured in the Dune series of novels by Frank Herbert, in reference to the desert regions where the members of this genus are distributed."	^[187]
Nylanderia usul Williams, Williams, LaPolla & Lucky, 2025	Ant	Paul Atreides (Usul)	"The species epithet is derived from Frank Herbert's science fiction novel Dune. In the novel, "Usul" is the secret name given to the protagonist, Paul Atreides, by the Fremen, the desert dwellers of the planet Arrakis. This name references the species' moderate to intense blue iridescence, alluding to the "blue-within-blue" eyes that Paul acquires after joining the Fremen and consuming the spice melange. The term "Usul" translates to "the strength of the base of the pillar" and is derived from the Arabic word usul, the plural form of asl, which means "origin", "root", or "principle"."	^[188]
Voeltzkowia shaihulud Miralles et al., 2025	Skink	Sandworms	A "sand-swimming skink" whose name is "derived from 'Shai-Hulud', the name given by the Fremen people to the mythical giant sand worms of the planet Arrakis, also known as Dune, in the eponymous science fiction novel published by Frank Herbert in 1965."	^[189]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Isospora jaracimrmani Modrý & Koudela, 1995	Protist	Jára Cimrman	A parasite of chameleons described by Czech scientists and named "in honour of Jára Cimrman, a popular Czech theatre hero."	^[190]
Apodemus uralensis cimrmani Vohralík, 2002	Mouse		This subspecies is endemic to a small area of North Bohemia, Czech Republic, and "named after Mr. Jára Cimrman, a famous inventor, traveller and the principal of the touring theatre who, in the beginning of 20th century has operated in Bohemia"	^[191]
Butheoloides cimrmani Kovařík, 2003	Scorpion		"Named after Jára Cimrman, a well known Czech renaissance man."	^[192]
Heterometrus cimrmani Kovařík, 2004	Scorpion		"Named after Jára Cimrman, a well known Czech renaissance man. Jára Cimrman bred large Heterometrus from Thailand and Malaysia and in his log noted that they must be two species with different sexual dimorphism (Heterometrus spinifer and the species described here). Regrettably, he has not published the observation."	^[193]
Parabuthus cimrmani Kovařík, 2004	Scorpion		"Named after Jára Cimrman, a well known Czech renaissance man."	^[194]
Rhamphomyia cimrmani Barták, 2006	Fly		"The species is named in honour of the Czech imaginary inventor, Jára da Cimrman."	^[195]
Cimrmanium Bílý, 2009	Beetle		"named after the famous Czech traveller, innovator and the last Czech polyhistorian, Jára Cimrman."	^[196]
Chaerilus cimrmani Kovařík, 2012	Scorpion		"Named after Jára Cimrman, a well known Czech renaissance man."	^[197]
Calochaete cimrmanii Hauer, Bohunická & Mühlsteinová, 2013	Cyanobacteria		"The species is named after the mythical Czech scientist, dramatist, poet, and writer Jára Cimrman."	^[198]
†Cimrmaniela Frýda, Ferrová & Frýdová, 2013	Sea snail		A fossil genus from the Devonian of the Czech Republic, named "in honour of Jára Cimrman, who was one of the greatest Czech universal scientists and artists of the 19th and early 20th century."	^[199]
Rubus jarae-cimrmanii M.Lepší, P.Lepší, Trávn. & Žíla	Bramble		This species is endemic to the Czech Republic and is named for "the fictitious Czech genius Jára Cimrman, who was, without a shadow of doubt, deeply interested, among all other branches of science, also in batology."	^[200]
†Longicrusa jaracimrmani Tihelka, Huang & Cai, 2020	Beetle		A fossil species found in Cretaceous Burmese amber, "named in honour of Jára Cimrman, a Czech theatre hero."	^[201]
Antikuna cimrmani Kaderka, Ferretti & Hüsser, 2021	Tarantula		"dedicated to Jára Cimrman, one of the greatest Czech playwrights, poets, composers, teachers, travellers, philosophers, inventors, detectives, mathematicians, and sportsmen of the 19th and early 20th century."	^[202]
Collybiopsis cimrmanii Ševčíková & P.-A. Moreau (2022)	Fungus		" in honour of 'The greatest Czech Jára Cimrman', a great playwright, poet, musician, teacher, traveller, philosopher, inventor, scientist, criminologist and athlete."	^[203]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Ledermanniella maturiniana Beentje (2005)	Riverweed	Stephen Maturin		^[204]
Theognete maturini Anderson, 2010	Weevil	Stephen Maturin	"The dedication was arranged through a donation to Nature Discovery Fund of the Canadian Museum of Nature by The Gunroom of HMSSurprise.org."	^[205]^[206]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Erechthias beeblebroxi Robinson & Nelson, 1993	Moth	Zaphod Beeblebrox		^[207]
Bidenichthys beeblebroxi Paulin, 1995	Viviparous brotula fish	Zaphod Beeblebrox	"Named for Zaphod Beeblebrox, President of the Galaxy in The [Hitchhiker's] Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams."	^[208]
Fiordichthys slartibartfasti Paulin, 1995	Viviparous brotula fish	Slartibartfast	"Named for Slartibartfast, designer of fiords in The [Hitchhiker's] Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams."	^[208]
†Babelichthys Davesne, 2017	Crestfish	Babelfish	Named after the "teleost-like, ear-dwelling, polyglot" Babel Fish "in reference to the very peculiar, almost alien-like, appearance of the genus".	^[209]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
†Larachelus morla Pérez-García & Murelaga, 2012	Turtle	Morla	A fossil species from the Cretaceous of Spain, with a vaulted carapace, whose "specific name refers to 'Morla,' a fictional swamp turtle with a high carapace (the 'Tortoise Shell Mountain') from the fantasy novel 'Die unendliche Gesichichte' ('The Neverending Story') by Michael Ende (1979)."	^[210]
Fujuriphyes Sánchez et al., 2016	Mud dragon	Falkor (Fujur in the Spanish translation; the lead author is Spanish)	"From Fujur, the dog-dragon in the novel The Neverending Story by M. Ende + Greek phyes, the commonly used suffix in names of Allomalorhagid genera. The name adds to the list of kinorhynch (mud dragons) species named after dragons and also refers to the study of kinorhynch phylogeny as a "never-ending story"."	^[211]
Asclepias graogramanii L.O.Alvarado, M.G.Chávez & J.A.Álvarez	Flowering plant	Grograman (Graógramán in the original German)	"The name of the new species refers to the fictional character Graograman, a multicolored lion from Michael Ende's novel "The Neverending Story", due to the colorful flowers".	^[212]
Polystemma atreyui Pío-León, L.O.Alvarado & S.Islas	Flowering plant	Atreyu	"The name refers to the fictional character Atreyu from Michael Ende's novel "The Neverending Story." Atreyu is a member of the green-skinned tribe that lives in the Grassy Plain. He is sent to search for a cure to save the world of Fantasia. His story is similar to our own work as botanists trying to conserve our world under the threat of disappearance from multiple causes, such as climate change."	^[213]
†Manouria morla Chroust, Szczygielski & Luján, 2025	Tortoise	Morla	A fossil species from the Miocene of the Czech Republic, "named after Morla, a fantasy character from the book The Neverending Story (orig. Die unendliche Geschichte) written by Michael Ende (1929–1995), firstly published in 1979, later adapted as a movie in 1984. Morla, the Ancient One, is a giant tortoise who lives in the Swamps of Sadness. The new species described herein is the oldest known species of the genus from the Early Miocene of Czechia; therefore, the Ancient One. Its remains come from the swamp deposits of Ahníkov, a parallel to the Swamps of Sadness."	^[214]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
†Czekanowskia anguae Watson et al., 2001	Gymnosperm	Angua von Überwald	"In tribute to the author Terry Pratchett OBE, all the new fossil plant species diagnosed and described in this paper are named for fictional characters who appear in his series of Discworld novels."	^[215]
†Ginkgoites weatherwaxiae Watson et al., 2001	Ginkgo	Granny Weatherwax
†Ginkgoites nannyoggiae Watson et al., 2001	Ginkgo	Nanny Ogg
†Ginkgoites garlickianus Watson et al., 2001	Ginkgo	Magrat Garlick
†Phoenicopsis rincewindii Watson et al., 2001	Gymnosperm	Rincewind
†Pseudotorellia vimesiana Watson et al., 2001	Conifer	Sam Vimes
†Sciadopityoides greeboana Watson et al., 2001	Gymnosperm	Greebo, Nanny Ogg's cat
†Sulcatocladus dibbleri Watson et al., 2001	Conifer	C.M.O.T. Dibbler
†Torreyites detriti Watson et al., 2001	Conifer	Detritus
Apseudes atuini Bamber, 2005	Crustacean	Great A'Tuin		^[216]
Bathytanais greebo Bamber, 2005	Crustacean	Greebo, Nanny Ogg's cat		^[217]
Tanaella dongo Bamber, 2005	Crustacean	Crocodile Dongo		^[218]
Aleiodes achingae Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Tiffany Aching		^[219]
Aleiodes adorabelleae Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Adora Belle Dearheart
Aleiodes anguaae Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Angua von Überwald
Aleiodes atuin Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Great A'Tuin
Aleiodes binkyi Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Binky, Death's horse
Aleiodes conina Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Conina
Aleiodes deathi Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Edward d'Eath
Aleiodes deyoyoi Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Kompt de Yoyo
Aleiodes downeyi Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Lord Downey
Aleiodes flannelfooti Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Zlorf Flannelfoot	"Named after the assassin character Zlorf Flannelfoot in the Terry Pratchett Discworld novel and in allusion to the pectinate claws."
Aleiodes gaspodei Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Gaspode the Wonder Dog
Aleiodes herrena Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Herrena
Aleiodes lavaeolous Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Lavaeolous
Aleiodes liessa Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Liessa Wyrmbidder
Aleiodes lipwigi Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Moist von Lipwig
Aleiodes lipwigduplicitus Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Moist von Lipwig	"In reference to the duplicitous nature of the character Mr Lipwig in the Terry Pratchett Discworld novel Going Postal and hence it's easy confusion with A. lipwigi"
Aleiodes magratae Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Magrat Garlick
Aleiodes malichi Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Alberto Malich
Aleiodes mericeti Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Mericet
Aleiodes morti Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Mort
Aleiodes nivori Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Grunworth Nivor
Aleiodes ponderi Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Ponder Stibbons	"Named after the character Ponder Stibbons from the Terry Pratchett Discworld novels, and a pun on 'to ponder'."
Aleiodes prillae Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Lady Prill
Aleiodes pteppicymoni Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Pteppicymon XXVIII	"Named after the assassin character 'His Greatness the King Pteppicymon XXVIII, Lord of the Heavens ...' from the Terry Pratchett Discworld novel, in reference to lethal parasitoid biology of the wasp."
Aleiodes ptraci Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Ptraci I
Aleiodes ridcullyi Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Mustrum Ridcully
Aleiodes rincewindi Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Rincewind
Aleiodes sacharissa Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Sacharissa Cripslock
Aleiodes selachiii Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Robert Selachii
Aleiodes stibbonsi Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Ponder Stibbons
Aleiodes stohelit Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Susan Sto Helit
Aleiodes teatimei Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Jonathan Teatime
Aleiodes tmaliaae Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	T'malia
Aleiodes vetinarii Butcher et al., 2012	Wasp	Havelock Vetinari
Periclimenes rincewindi De Grave, 2014	Shrimp	Rincewind	"Rincewind is a fictional wizard in several Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett, who is well known for his ability to blend in with any situation, despite his penchant for colourful clothing."	^[220]
Dimophora rhysi Klopfstein, 2016	Wasp	Rhys Rhysson	"This particularly small Dimophora species is named after the Low King of the dwarfs, Rhys Rhysson, from the late Terry Pratchett's novel 'The Fifth Elephant', and is dedicated to its inventor and father of the Discworld series. He will be sorely missed."	^[221]
Pristomerus fourecksensis Klopfstein, 2016	Wasp	Fourecks	"This name refers to the continent 'Fourecks' in the discworld novel by the late Terry Pratchett. Fourecks has many similarities with Australia, and the name is most probably based on the XXXX beer from Queensland."	^[222]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Pseudotanais geralti Jakiel, Palero & Błażewicz, 2019	Tanaid	Geralt of Rivia	P. geralti and P. yenneferae form a pair of sister species.	^[10]
Pseudotanais yenneferae Jakiel, Palero & Błażewicz, 2019	Tanaid	Yennefer of Vengerberg		^[10]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Laelius arryni Azevedo & Barbosa, 2014	Wasp	House Arryn	"The specific epithets of all new species are derived from some families of the book 'A Song of Ice and Fire, [A] Game of Thrones'" by George R. R. Martin	^[223]
Laelius baratheoni Azevedo & Barbosa, 2014		House Baratheon
Laelius lannisteri Azevedo & Barbosa, 2014		House Lannister
Laelius martelli Azevedo & Barbosa, 2014		House Martell
Laelius targaryeni Azevedo & Barbosa, 2014		House Targaryen
Laelius tullyi Azevedo & Barbosa, 2014		House Tully
Laelius starki Azevedo & Barbosa, 2014		House Stark
Tritonicula khaleesi (Silva, Azevedo & Matthews-Cascon, 2014)	Sea slug	Khaleesi, title of Daenerys Targaryen	Daenerys "is described as being short and having long white hair, features that resemble the white band on the notum" of the species. Originally described as Tritonia khaleesi, and subsequently transferred to genus Tritonicula	^[224] ^[225]
Pheidole drogon Sarnat, Fischer & Economo, 2016	Ant	Drogon	"The species name refers to Drogon, the black-colored dragon of Daenerys Targaryen"	^[226]
Pheidole viserion Sarnat, Fischer & Economo, 2016	Ant	Viserion	"The species name refers to Viserion, the cream and gold colored dragon of Daenerys Targaryen"	^[226]
Hippasosa ghost (Jocque & Jocqué, 2017)	Spider	Ghost	"The species name 'ghost' refers to the fully white appearance of this spider. Additional reference is made to the large white direwolf 'Ghost' in Game of Thrones, the first book in the series of fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin." This species was originally described as Ocyale ghost and subsequently transferred to genus Hippasosa.	^[227] ^[228]
Eadya daenerys Ridenbaugh, 2018	Wasp	Daenerys Targaryen	"This species is named for Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains"	^[229]
Ochyrocera varys Brescovit et al., 2018	Spider	Varys	"Lorde Varys is a character with a venomous spirit, known as a spider in the plot."	^[150]
Paramonovius nightking Li & Yeates, 2018	Bee fly	Night King	"This species is named after the Night King in the American fantasy drama Game of Thrones, because all the specimens were collected in winter and the fly is mostly covered in thick pale pruinescence." Also, the fly, like the fictional villain, turns its victims into zombies.	^[230]
Abyssarya Bonifácio & Menot, 2018	Segmented worm	Arya Stark	"This genus is dedicated to Arya Stark, one of [the lead author]'s favourite characters in the novel 'A song of ice and fire' by George R. R. Martin. The name is composed by 'abyss' from the Latin word 'ăbyssus' meaning 'bottomless' and Arya."	^[231]
Hodor hodor Bonifácio & Menot, 2018	Segmented worm	Hodor	The genus and species are "dedicated to Hodor, one of [the lead author]'s favourite characters in the novel 'A song of ice and fire' by George R. R. Martin."	^[231]
Fujuriphyes viserioni Sánchez, Sørensen & Landers, 2019	Mud dragon	Viserion		^[232]
Gymnetis drogoni Ratcliffe, 2019	Scarab beetle	Drogon		^[233]
Gymnetis rhaegali Ratcliffe, 2019		Rhaegal
Gymnetis viserioni Ratcliffe, 2019		Viserion
†Targaryendraco Pêgas, Holgado & Leal, 2019	Pterosaur	Dragons of House Targaryen	"A combination of Targaryen and draco (from the Latin word for dragon), in reference to the fictional dragons of the saga A Song of Ice and Fire that exhibit dark-coloured bones. This refers to the dark colour of the type specimen of Targaryendraco wiedenrothi comb. nov., as well as to the classic association between pterosaurs and dragons [...]. This reference also honours the fact that pterosaurs have inspired some biological aspects of the dragons featured in the novels."	^[234]
†Meraxes Canale et al., 2022	Carcharodontosaurid dinosaur	Meraxes	Named after a dragon ridden by Queen Rhaenys Targaryen.	^[235]
Baratheonus Gellert, Palero & Błażewicz, 2022	Tanaid	House Baratheon		^[236]
Baratheonus roberti Gellert, Palero & Błażewicz, 2022	Tanaid	Robert Baratheon
Starkus Gellert, Palero & Błażewicz, 2022	Tanaid	House Stark
Lannisterella Gellert, Palero & Błażewicz, 2022	Tanaid	House Lannister		^[237]
Lannisterella cerseiae Gellert, Palero & Błażewicz, 2022	Tanaid	Cersei Lannister		^[237]

Taxon	Type	Named for	Notes	Ref
Tetramorium rumo Hita Garcia & Fisher, 2014	Ant	Rumo	"The new species is named after the fictional character 'Rumo' from Walter Moers' fantasy novel 'Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures'. Tetramorium rumo is a very bright species, almost white, with distinct propodeal spines reminiscent of 'Rumo', who is a white wolperting with short but acute horns."	^[238]
Tetramorium rala Hita Garcia & Fisher, 2014	Ant	Rala	"The new species is named after the fictional character 'Rala' from Walter Moers' fantasy novel 'Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures'."	^[238]