A new species of water beetle found clinging to a sandstone rock in a fast-flowing stream that leads to a waterfall in Malaysian Borneo has been named after the actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
The beetle is named, ‘Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi,’ after the “Titanic” actor in recognition for his efforts to protect the environment.
The “Revenant” actor proudly changed his Facebook photo to an image of the Leo beetle after news of the name was announced.
The little black beetle, with moderately protruding eyes and a partly retractable head, Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi was discovered during an expedition to a remote tract of rainforest in Sabah’s Maliau Basin, in the heart of Malaysian Borneo. The trip was organized by Taxon Expeditions, which sets up field surveys for budding citizen scientists.
DiCaprio, who won the 2016 Academy Award for best actor, created the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, a charity that supports wildlife conservation and fights climate change. The field trip to Borneo was arranged by scientists at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines and a Dutch firm, Taxon Expeditions that trains paying members of the public in the scientific techniques used to capture study and identify new species. The beetle was named after DiCaprio after the citizen scientists and staff at the Maliau Basin Studies Centre voted at a ceremony at the end of the trip.
Earlier this year, a beefy fly from the Brazilian Amazon was named after Arnold Schwarzenegger, while last year the discovery of a moth with yellowish-white scales on its head was named after Donald Trump. Kate Winslet also has a beetle named after her, as do George W Bush, Bill Clinton and Adolf Hitler.The Scaptia beyonceae horsefly is named after singer Beyonce and the Gnathia marleyi is named after late singer Bob Marley.