Guillermo del Toro is one of the most internationally recognized Mexican filmmakers and one of the most awarded with awards for different films he has directed and created. For this reason, in November 2022, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) awarded him a doctorate. honoris causa for his career and contribution to cinematography.
However, it seems that for the highest house of studies in Mexico it was not enough to honor him with that recognition, so now they went further and have just named a new species of firefly that was found in the filmmaker’s homeland with his name. .
The news was shared on February 28, when UNAM scientists shared that the insect found by entomologists Santiago Zaragoza Caballero, from the UNAM Institute of Biology, and Geovanni Rodríguez Mirón, from FES Zaragoza, would bear the name of the famous screenwriter and director originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Details of the specimen will be published in the Mexican Biodiversity Magazine from UNAM.
According to the information shared by entomologists, the new species of firefly was found in the forests of the Sierra de Tapalpa, south of Jalisco, and received the scientific name of Photinus guillermodeltoroian insect that joins the other 48 specimens of its species found in Mexico.
In addition to paying tribute to the 58-year-old Mexican filmmaker for the great achievements he has obtained throughout his career in the world of cinema, they wanted to honor the species that was found in the land where the screenwriter and novelist was born, since He is originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
With this, Guillermo del Toro joins the list of famous Mexican characters that entomologists from Mexico and the world use to name the various species they analyze, since they have previously used names of important celebrities of Mexican culture such as Juan Rulfo, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
It should be noted that the recognition of naming this new species after the filmmaker is not only a sample of the richness of biodiversity that exists in Mexico, but it is also the way to honor a discovery that took more than three years of hard work dedicated to study Mexican fireflies, since, so far, it is considered the second richest country in terms of diversity of fireflies.