The actor, known for taking on quirky characters in his movies, had the rare honour after a 505-million-year-old fossil was discovered by the scientists, the People magazine reported.
The creature has been named Kooteninchela deppi because of its scissor-like claws, which reminded the scientist who discovered it of Depp's character from 'Edward Scissorhands'.
"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," the scientist, David Legg, said on the website of London's Imperial College.