Bowie gets creepy spider named after him

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We have some funky ways of immortalizing our idols. Matt Damon gets an honorary diploma from Harvard, David Bowie gets a big, hairy spider named after him. Fitting, really-- we're sure both essentially meaningless honors made their recipients happy as hell.

The naming stunt, which has branded a rare yellow spider, recently discovered in regions of Malaysia, with Bowie's name, is part of an effort to raise awareness about a plague of extinctions threatening those fearsome eight-legged freaks. Consider it a success--all this time, we were going about our business blissfully unaware that these creepy crawlies were being exterminated. Take a gander at the picture above, and say the name: "Heteropoda davidbowie."

It was entymologist Peter Jager's brainchild-- he discovered the spider recently and got the honors of handing down its scientific. He bucked all scientific tradition by eschewing the Latin taxonomy-- one could practically hear beakers crashing off of lab tables in Universities worldwide.

We tried to find if other celebreties have had animals named after them. But after a few seconds of futile Googling, we just decided to make some shit up. Enjoy!

Manchurian bowel worm-- tagia stappia, named for Creed frontman Scott Stapp.
Martian hobo-- clintona galactica, named for funk idol George Clinton.
Animated roadrunner-- acellerati incredibus.
Argentinina hirsute ground squirrel-- marmota wailliamata, named for Robin Williams.
Glenn Beck-- homo stultus, named for pundit Glenn Beck.