In case being a handsome Hollywood movie star wasn’t enough, Leonardo DiCaprio now has a species of snake named in his honour.
Researchers found the reptile in the western Himalayas in the summer of 2020, the Miami Herald reported, citing an “ongoing study” published by nature.com on Monday, Oct. 21.
Scientists caught a few of the copper-coloured snakes with dozens of teeth and analyzed their DNA, finding that, although the serpent had familiar traits of other snakes, it was an entirely new species – Anguiculus dicaprioi, or DiCaprio’s Himalayan snake.
The DiCaprio’s snakes are considered small, reaching lengths of only 56 centimetres. They have “short” heads, “large” nostrils, and many teeth.
The newly-discovered species can be identified by a “faint” grey band, which appears as a “collar” around the reptile’s neck.
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The snake’s name was an obvious choice, researchers said, because the “American actor, film producer, and environmentalist (is someone) who has been actively involved in creating awareness about global climate change (and) increased biodiversity loss.”
The species was found “basking” on the roads of muddy mountains and “remained motionless until caught and made no attempts to bite.”
DiCaprio’s Himalayan snakes can survive elevations of about 1,850 metres, the researchers said.
According to the published findings, the new species has been found in Nepal and the neighboring Indian states of Himachal Pradesh.
Speaking to people.com at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2016 for his documentary The Ivory Game, DiCaprio explained how he got into environmental activism.
“At a young age, I was very saddened by species that had become extinct by the result of man-made activity, and so that led me on a long sort of journey to get me involved in environmental issues,” the Oscar winner said at the time.