A new species (Cherax snowden) found on the Kepala Burung (Vogelkop) Peninsula was named after Edward Joseph Snowden to honour his extraordinary achievements in defense of justice, and freedom.

A new species, Cherax snowden sp. n., from the Oinsok River Drainage, Sawiat District in the central part of the Kepala Burung (Vogelkop) Peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia, is described, figured and compared with the closest related species, Cherax holthuisi Lukhaup & Pekny, 2006. This species is collected and exported for ornamental purposes and its commercial name in the pet trade is “orange tip” or “green orange tip”. Both species may be easily distinguished morphologically or by using sequence divergence, which is substantial, for considering C. snowden sp. n. to be a new species.

IB Times writes:

"Lukhaup describes the species—which he named Cherax snowden, after the former NSA contractor and whistleblower—in the most recent issue of the journal ZooKeys. A nomenclative raised fist in the dark night of zoological quietism, Lukhaup’s decision arose from his desire to honor Snowden, whom he describes as an “[A]merican freedom fighter,” worthy of respect for “his extraordinary achievements in defense of justice, and freedom.”

Lukhaup elaborated on his choice to the Washington Post’s Elahe Izadi: “We have so many species named after other famous people who probably don't do so much for humanity,” he told Izadi. “I wanted to show support for Edward Snowden. I think what he did is something very special.”

As Izadi notes, Cherax snowden—which originates in West Papau, Indonesia—has relatively little in common with its namesake, bearing him no particular resemblance. Nevertheless, Lukhaup suggested a more metaphorical connection. “A crayfish lives under a rock,” he explained to Izadi. “It has to hide from his enemies and he comes out in the night and he hunts, and he is protected by a shell.”