ABCs of Animal World: Animals Named After Billionaires and Sports Celebrities

Friday, September 2, 2011

Animals Named After Billionaires and Sports Celebrities

Some animal species are named after famous personalities. Check out what animals were named after famous personalities. These animals were usually named after such person for their effort and contribution to nature and zoology.

Bill Gates' Flower Fly (Eristalis gatesi)

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The Bill Gates' Flower Fly (Eristalis gatesi) is an insect that can be found in

Costa Rica

only. It was named for the billionaire Bill gates in recognition of his great contribution to the science of Dipterology.

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William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, philanthropist, author and chairman of Microsoft. He is consistently ranked among the wealthiest people in the world.

Paul Allen's Flower Fly (Eristalis alleni)

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Paul Allen's Flower Fly (Eristalis alleni) is another flower fly that can be found only in

Costa Rica

. It was named after another billionaire and an associate of Bill Gates.

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Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, real state developer and philanthropist. He is Bill Gates’ co-founder of Microsoft. He is the 57^th richest man in the world and the founder and chairman of Vulcan Inc.

Andrew Carnegie (Diplodocus Carnegii)

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Diplodocus carnegii, commonly named Andrew Carnegie is a species of sauropod dinosaur, a large dinosaur that lived during the Jurassic period.

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Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American businessman, industrialist and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19^th century. He was also one of the most important philanthropists of his era.

Boris Becker (Bursina borisbeckeri)

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Bursina borisbeckeri, commonly known as Boris Becker, is a sea snail species, named after the popular tennis player of

Germany

– Boris Becker. This animal is a marine gastropod mollusk in the Bursidae family commonly called frog shell.

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Boris Franz Becker is a former World No.1 professional tennis player from

Germany

. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17.

Jack Dempsey (Rocio octofasciata)

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The Jack Dempsey (Rocio octofasciata) is a colorful cichlid fish that is widely distributed across North and Central America. This popular aquarium fish is endemic to Honduras and

Mexico

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William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey, a.k.a “Manassa Mauler", was a popular world heavyweight champion from the

United States

. He is one of the most popular boxers because of his aggressive style and exceptional punching power. This International Boxing Hall of Fame recipient is listed #10 on the Ring’s magazine list of all-time heavyweights and ranked 7^th among its Top 100 Greatest Punchers.

Dizzy Dean (Mastophora dizzydeani)

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Mastophora dizzydeani is commonly named Dizzy Dean. This animal is named after Dizzy Jean. This creature uses a sticky ball on the end of a thread of webbing to catch its prey.

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Dizzy Jean’s complete name Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean. This American Major League baseball pitcher was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.

See also