Why voyage dangerously into the Amazon in search of new animal species when you can stay in the comfort of your living room and simply bid for the rights to name a new butterfly yourself? That's exactly what happened last week, when the Florida Museum of Natural History and iGavel auctioned off the right to name a new species of butterfly that was discovered earlier this year by a couple of researchers from the University of Florida.

Male

Female

While many biologists would relish this chance of enduring renown, George Austin and Andrew Warren selflessly opted to auction the naming rights of the vividly colored species of owl butterfly to raise money for continued research on Mexican butterflies. The name, which has yet to be announced, fetched $34,000. It's a relatively low price for immortality, even in biology textbooks.

--David Coggins