While Johnny Depp has already become immortalized in the films he has made throughout his career, the Transcendence actor will now always be remembered by the scientific community as the inspiration for naming a recently discovered ancient animal.

Working on his PhD at Imperial College London, David Legg carried out research concerning a 505 million year old fossil of a creature that he dubbed Kooteninchela deppi, after Depp's character in the classic Tim Burton film, Edward Scissorhands. Legg, admittedly a fan of the 49 year old star explained his thought process in naming the fossil (see what it looks like after the jump):

“When I first saw the pair of isolated claws in the fossil records of this species I could not help but think of Edward Scissorhands. Even the genus name, Kootenichela, includes the reference to this film as ‘chela’ is Latin for claws or scissors. In truth, I am also a bit of a Depp fan and so what better way to honor the man than to immortalize him as an ancient creature that once roamed the sea?”