Monty Python star John Cleese said Tuesday that having a lemur named after him was a greater honour than receiving a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
The 68-year-old, who declined a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) award in 1996, paid tribute to the exotic creatures as he visited a zoo in Bristol, southwest England, near where he grew up.
"I've had a species named after me. A Swiss guy discovered it. He called and asked if I will give him permission to name it after me," said Cleese, also well known for the Fawlty Towers sitcom.
"I would rather have that than a knighthood or peerage."
The British comedian, who lives in California, shot to international fame in the late 1960s and 1970s as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, known for surreal and satirical humour.
Cleese is currently going through an expensive divorce from his third wife, psychotherapist Alyce Faye Eichelberger, according to newspapers, which last week printed pictures of him with his new girlfriend Veronica Smiley, 34.
The actor, who was born in Weston-super-Mare, in the county of Somerset, recounted how he used to walk round Bristol Zoo Gardens as a young man, and would head straight for the lemurs.
"They're the sweetest little creatures. They never snatch food from you," he said.
