Meet the animal species named after famous faces

One of Formula 1's fastest drivers has a rather unusual reason to celebrate this week.

Australian racer Oscar Piastri has been given an honour he probably didn't expect - he's had an ancient wasp named after him!

Wasp fossils of what's now been given the title of Gwesped piastrii were discovered inside amber in northern Myanmar.

Scientists writing in the Paleoworld journal say that the orange-coloured amber gems reminded them of Oscar's orange McLaren car that he races in.

But who else has had a species named after them, and why?

Let's stick in the sports world with superstar footballer, Lionel Messi.

The striker is from Argentina - and so is the small spider that's named after him.

The Acanthogonatus messii was discovered in a huge Patagonian desert that stretches from Argentina to Chile.

The authors of the study in the Zoosystema science journal wrote that the spider likes to make burrows in sandy places with small shrubs.

But that's not the only spider to have a very famous name.

Check out the Castianeira swiftay, named after... you guessed it... Taylor Swift.

This spider is from Costa Rica and has a quirky feature where it disguises itself as an ant.

Spider finder Brogan L Pett gave the species its name in honour of Taylor Swift's music, writing in Zootaxa that her tunes kept him "energised and motivated through many late nights at the microscope."

Nearly 15 years ago, King Charles - then Prince Charles - got a very special honour.

The Hyloscirtus princecharlesi was discovered in 2008, but was given its name in 2012 to celebrate the then-prince's work in promoting conservation.

The endangered frog is found in Ecuador, and - as you can see from the picture taken by the scientist who named it - it's quite hard to spot!

Someone else who's had a species named after them for helping out the environment is climate activist Greta Thunberg.

The Thunberga gretawas found in Madagascar and is a huntsman spider.

Spider expert Peter Jaeger gave it its name "in honour of Greta's commitment to tackling climate change".

Okay, so - whilst these are characters rather than real people - it deserves a mention, as the Harryplax severus crab is one of many creatures named after the Harry Potter world.

It was discovered 20 years before scientists realised it was actually a brand new species, hiding in plain sight.

And it's this secretive nature that led Jose Mendoza and Peter Ng to give the crab its name, after "Professor Severus Snape, for his ability to keep one of the most important secrets in the story."

And of course... how could we end without mentioning the 100 year old nature-loving legend?

Sir David Attenborough has had over 50 species named after him, including butterflies, geckos, orchids, and extinct marine reptiles.

Including, to celebrate his 100th birthday, a new species of wasp - the Attenboroughnculus tau!