Terms of endearment? Bias in first-name eponyms for species named after people

CORRESPONDENCE

16 June 2026

By

Elizabeth J. Carlen

Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Jonathan B. Losos

Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Samantha E. E. Kreling

Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.

The practice of naming species after people has come under criticism for several reasons, including because men are over-represented and women are under-represented. But looking across all mammal species, it seems that there are also differences in how men and women are honoured.

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Nature 654, 834 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01916-8

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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