Leonardo DiCaprio names newly-discovered snake species after his favourite woman

Leonardo DiCaprio has named a newly-discovered species of snake after his favourite woman.

The actor and environmentalist was given the honor of naming the new species after it was recently found in the Panamanian jungle.

The Dicaprio snail-eating snake is named Simon irmelindicaprioae after the actor’s mother, Irmelin Indenbirken, who he frequently brings to awards ceremonies and credits for his success. The species is extremely rare and dwells in the trees of the largely unexplored, dense Chocó-Darién jungle which runs along the Pacific coast of Colombia and north into Panama.

Four other species were also discovered during explorations in Ecuador, Colombia, and Panama.

The billionaire investor and conservationist Brian Sheth also named a snake, Marley’s snail-eating snake (Sibon marleyae), in honour of his daughter. The snake has a unique Christmas coloration, according to researchers, and was discovered in undisturbed rainforest.

A third snake was called the Welborn’s snail-eating snake (Dipsas welborni) after David Welborn, a former board member of the conservation group, Nature and Culture International.

This species is in massive decline due to the explosion of gold and copper mining in the majestic mountain range Cordillera del Cóndor, and more widely across Latin America.

The mountainous areas of the upper-Amazon rainforest and the Chocó-Darién jungles hold some of the largest gold and copper deposits in the world with illegal mining exploding during the pandemic.

Previously undisturbed rainforests - rich in biodiversity and vital carbon sinks in combatting the climate crisis - are being razed to create open-pit mines, endangering the survival of tree-dwelling snakes and other rare species.

Two other species, the canopy snail-eating snake (Sibon canopy) and the vieira’s snail-eating snake (Sibon vieirai) also face increased risk of extinction.

The research was conducted by Ecuadorian biologist Alejandro Arteaga, and Panamanian biologist Abel Batista.

“When I first explored the rainforests of Nangaritza River in 2014, I remember thinking the place was an undiscovered and unspoiled paradise,” Mr Arteaga, whose research on the new species has been published in the journal ZooKeys.

“In fact, the place is called Nuevo Paraíso in Spanish, but it is a paradise no more. Hundreds of illegal gold miners using backhoe loaders have now taken possession of the river margins, which are now destroyed and turned into rubble.”

He added: “These new species of snake are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of new species discoveries in this region, but if illegal mining continues at this rate, there may not be an opportunity to make any future discoveries.”

NGOs, Khamai, Nature and Culture International, and Adopta Bosque, are working to protect the species, and say that immediate land protection is the only way to save the snakes from extinction.