{"id":463415,"date":"2026-03-08T00:03:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T00:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/463415\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T00:03:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T00:03:31","slug":"jedi-ants-skywalker-apes-stormtropis-spiders-10-crazy-animals-named-after-star-wars-characters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/463415\/","title":{"rendered":"Jedi ants, Skywalker apes, Stormtropis spiders… 10 crazy animals named after Star Wars characters"},"content":{"rendered":"

The opportunity to name a new species is a rare honour and one that is arguably taken more seriously by some than others\u2026 <\/p>\n

Whilst many newly discovered species are given humdrum descriptive names, relating to some physical aspect of the organism, others may be named after a favourite celebrity<\/a> or even a foodstuff – or a favourite television programme.<\/p>\n

Some scientists also seem to take naming as an opportunity to nerd-out over their favourite sci-fi franchise. There are quite an extraordinary number of animal and plant species that are named after Star Wars characters and elements. So much so that there is a dedicated Wikipedia page<\/a>! Here are 10 of our favourite Star Wars named animals.<\/p>\n

10 animals named after Star Wars characters
\nWockia chewbacca
\n\"\"Chewbacca \u00a9 ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT\/AFP via Getty Images
\n\"\"Adult Wockia chewbacca, holotype. Public Domain<\/p>\n

This is perhaps one of those occasions where the name of an animal is more exciting than the animal itself. These moths, found in Mexico, are small and of a dull grey-brown colour. They do have some small resemblance to their namesake, however – the \u2018hair\u2019 on its wings. According to the paper describing the species \u201cThe species epithet, Chewbacca, is named after the very large and hairy Wookiee character in the Star Wars movie series\u201d. Does this moth remind you at all of Chewie?<\/p>\n

Learn about another unusually named hairy moth \u2013 the Donald Trump moth<\/a><\/p>\n

Urubaxia chewie<\/p>\n

Chewie is beloved enough to have not just one, but four species of insect named after him! Another of these is this species of true bug from Brazil. According to the authors, they named it this because of its big size and robustness compared to other Urubaxia species.<\/p>\n

Skywalker gibbon (Hoolock tianxing)
\n\"\"Luke Skywalker was played by Mark Hamill. Rich Fury\/Getty Images
\n\"\"A Skywalker gibbon walks across a rope ladder. Ger Bosma\/Getty<\/p>\n

One of the few non-insects<\/a> on this list, the Skywalker gibbon<\/a> is rare in being a newly described primate. It is also rare in that it is, unfortunately, critically endangered. Only first described as a distinct species in 2017, there are as few as 150 individuals left in the wild. Its species name is tianxing, which translates to \u2018heavenly movement\u2019 in Chinese and reflects its graceful swinging through the trees. For its English common name, the scientists who named it were Star Wars fans and felt \u2018sky walker\u2019 accurately described the movement.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Xenokeryx amidalae
\n\"\"Padm\u00e9 Amidala look-a-like. \u00a9 MIKE SIMMONDS\/AFP via Getty Images
\n\"\"Xenokeryx amidalae got its name from its unusual horn. Creative commons<\/p>\n

Often, even when Latin names are given after celebrities or fictional characters, there is still a descriptive reason. This is the case for this species of extinct horned ruminant, which was named after Queen and Senator Padm\u00e9 Amidala “Due to the striking resemblance that the occipital appendage of Xenokeryx bears to one of the hairstyles that the aforementioned character shows in The Phantom Menace feature film.”<\/p>\n

Coptoborus leia
\n\"\"Princess Leia was played by Carrie Fisher. Sunset Boulevard\/Corbis\/Getty<\/p>\n

As with Xenokeryx amidalae, this species also makes reference to a favourite character\u2019s hairstyle. According to the authors who named it, this species of bark beetle\u2019s round body and bristles reminded them of Princess Leia Organa\u2019s bun-styled hair. Sounds like a bit of a stretch to us!<\/p>\n

Han Solo
\n\"\"Harrison Ford, as Hans Solo, on the set of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Sunset Boulevard\/Corbis\/Getty
\n\"\"Han Solo trilobite. Creative commons<\/p>\n

If they are very lucky, scientists can sometimes have not just the species name, but the genus too reflect their favourite character or celebrity. This is true of this trilobite, named after the heroic Millennium Falcon pilot. Although the Han genus name is officially said to be in reference to the Han Chinese, the largest ethnic group in China (where the fossil was found) and the solo because it\u2019s the only known member of that genus, the author later admitted that his friends dared him to name a species after a Star Wars character.<\/p>\n

Tetramorium obiwan
\n\"\"British actor Alec Guinness played the original Obi-Wan Kenobi. Sunset Boulevard\/Corbis\/Getty
\n\"\"This pavement ant bears the name of a Jedi Master. Will Ericson \/ AntWeb.org \/ CC-BY-SA-3.0<\/p>\n

Although sometimes fandom-inspired species names have some link to the animal itself, some resemblance in movement or appearance, sometimes they are seemingly given just because. This appears to be the case for this otherwise fairly unremarkable pavement ant species named after the Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi. There is however another species in the same genus with a Star Wars link: Tetramorium jedi. Clearly these myrmecologists (ant scientists) are particularly big fans!<\/p>\n

Stormtropis
\n\"\"Stormtroopers in their iconic armour.Michael Buckner\/Variety\/Getty
\n\"\"A male Stormtropis muisca. Creative commons<\/p>\n

This next group of animals has perhaps a better descriptive reason for their Star Wars name. This genus of bald-legged spiders is made up of four distinct species, all found in Colombia. According to the authors, they chose the name due to the spiders\u2019 behaviour and ability to blend in with their surroundings: \u201cThe stormtroopers are the soldiers of the main ground force of the Galactic Empire. These soldiers are very similar to each other, with some capacity for camouflage but with unskilful movements \u2013 like this group of spiders.\u201d They appear to have refrained from making the species names Star Wars themed.<\/p>\n

Read more fascinating spider facts <\/a><\/p>\n

Peckoltia greedoi
\n\"\"Greedo first appeared in Episode IV: A New Hope. Eduardo Parra\/Getty Images
\n\"\"Peckoltia greedoi holotype. Creative commons<\/p>\n

If you know your Star Wars, the name of this catfish will need little explanation. The resemblance between the fish and the bug-eyed bounty hunter is really quite uncanny. These armoured catfish are to be found in the Gurup\u00ed River of Brazil, however, rather than in a spaceport cantina (a “wretched hive of scum and villainy”).<\/p>\n

Yoda purpurata
\n\"\"Yoda has a number of species named after him. ROSLAN RAHMAN\/AFP\/Getty
\n\"\"Yoda purpurata, or purple Yoda. David Shale<\/p>\n

With animals named after stormtroopers and minor bounty hunters, there must of course be species named after the greatest Jedi of them all, Yoda. There are, in fact, at least four, with this acorn worm being just one. This alien-looking marine invertebrate is the only species in the Yoda genus. It was given the name due to its large \u2018lateral lips\u2019 on the side of its head, which reminded the scientists of the Jedi master\u2019s distinctive pointed ears.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The opportunity to name a new species is a rare honour and one that is arguably taken more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[96,2839,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-463415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=463415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}