Scientists honor David Bowie by naming a 100-million-year-old wasp after David Bowie

It's a tribute to Ziggy Stardust.
Scientists honor David Bowie by naming a 100-million-year-old wasp after David Bowie
The resemblance is uncanny, no? Credit: Bowie: REX/Shutterstock / WASP: Dr. Elijah J. Talamas

David Bowie's memory is being preserved in a pretty unexpected way.

Nearly a year and a half after the "Space Oddity" singer's death, scientists have named a new, 100-million-year-old extinct species of wasps after him. The announcement was made in a paper in the latest edition of the Journal of Hymenoptera Research.

The wasp is now called Archaeoteleia astropulvis and, in case you can't translate it, "astropulvis" is a Latin translation for "star dust," a tribute to Bowie's famous alter ego "Ziggy Stardust."

Entomologists said the name "refers to the ancient source of the atoms that form our planet and its inhabitants and commemorates the late David Bowie alter ego, Ziggy Stardust."

The wasp was one of two different species preserved in Burmese amber. They were brought to the National Museum of Natural History by Longfeng Li, a student visiting from Capitol Normal University in Beijing. Both were previously unidentified, Phys.org reported.

You can check out the full study below.

This isn't the first time a species has been named after Bowie, though.

An endangered spider — Heteropoda davidbowie — was named after him a few years back, fitting for the musician who made "The Spiders From Mars" a thing.

Topics Celebrities

Mashable Potato

Recommended For You
Honor's humanoid robot shows off impressive dancing skills at MWC
Honor humanoid robot

Honor launches super-thin Magic V6 foldable phone alongside new laptop and tablet
Honor Magic V6

Honor's Robot Phone hand-on: It's wild, and it's weird
Honor Robot Phone



Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 3, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 3, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

Google launches Gemma 4, a new open-source model: How to try it
Google Gemma

NYT Strands hints, answers for April 3, 2026
A game being played on a smartphone.

The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!