Beetle species named after Leonardo DiCaprio

Other celebrities to have insects named after them are Kate Winslet, Beyonce and Bob Marley

LOS ANGELES,: Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio has had a beetle named after him in honour of his years of environmental campaigning.

The 43-year-old, who has campaigned for the environment for many years, created The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998.

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The Grouvellinus leonardodicaprioi beetle was discovered at the bottom of a waterfall in Maliau Basin, a remote nature reserve in Borneo. It was found by Taxon Expeditions, a firm set up to help untrained volunteers discover new species and the expedition was funded by the Inception star's foundation.

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After finding three new species of water beetle, the participants voted to name one of them after DiCaprio. Iva Njunjic, founder of Taxon Expeditions, said: "Tiny and black, this new beetle may not win an Oscar for charisma but in biodiversity conservation, every creature counts."

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The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation aims to reduce the impact of humans on the environment and protect the world's last wild places. It has awarded over $100 million in grants since 2010.

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Other celebrities to have insects names after them include Kate Winslet, who too has a beetle named after her. The Scaptia beyonceae horsefly was named after singer Beyonce because of its dense golden hair, and the Gnathia marleyi is a parasite that feed on fish in the Caribbean, named after late reggae singer Bob Marley.

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