''Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi'' is a
species of
riffle beetle in the superfamily
Byrrhoidea
Byrrhoidea is a superfamily of beetles belonging to Elateriformia that includes several families which are either aquatic or associated with a semi-aquatic habitat. Other than the superfamily Hydrophiloidea, most of the remaining Polyphagan beetle ...
. The beetle was discovered by
citizen scientists
Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...
working with a group of scientists from Taxon Expeditions. ''G. leonardodicaprioi'' belongs to the family
Elmidae, and it is endemic to
Malaysia.
Etymology
The species was named after actor and environmentalist
Leonardo DiCaprio to acknowledge his work in "promoting environmental awareness and bringing the problems of
climate change and biodiversity loss
Climate change has adversely affected both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and is expected to further affect many ecosystems, including tundra, mangroves, coral reefs, caves etc. Increasing global temperature, more frequent occurrence of ext ...
into the spotlight".
The
species description received media coverage by news outlets such as ''
The Guardian'', ''
USA Today'', and ''
Forbes'' due to its name.
See also
*
List of organisms named after famous people (born 1950–present)
* ''
Spintharus leonardodicaprioi'', a spider named after DiCaprio
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q52438971
Beetles described in 2018
Elmidae
Insects of Borneo
Leonardo DiCaprio