The David Bowie Spider

On September 6th, 2009, it was announced that this endangered arachnid from Malaysia, recently discovered by Peter Jäger, received the scientific name of Heteropoda davidbowie. Mr Jäger chose to name the large, hairy, yellow arachnid after David Bowie because he wanted "to raise awareness about the discovery", and giving the species a celebrity name would certainly draw attention to its plight.

The Heteropoda classification denotes the spider as a member of the pantropical genus of spiders, which includes 178 species. Only found in parts of Malaysia, it is estimated that less than 500 of H. davidbowie survive in the wild. Their habitat is being increasingly destroyed as humans clear the woodlands to make way for hotels and other tourist attractions.

This is not the first spider or endangered critter to receive a famous name. Others musicians include Mick Jagger, Neil Young, Sid Vicious, Nina Hagen, Jerry Garcia, and Frank Zappa.