HONG KONG, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A new firefly species was found in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and was named after local young woman Cheng Hoi Yan who donated part of her liver to save a stranger, the Hong Kong Entomological Society said on Friday.
Specimens of the new species, Oculogryphus chenghoiyanae, were collected alive in Hong Kong in May, 2017, according to an article published in international journal ZooKeys on Thursday.
It was the first Oculogryphus species with associated males and female found in Hong Kong and was described as new, the article said.
It was named after Cheng in honor of her contribution to saving a life as well as infusing positive energy. In April 2017, she donated two-thirds of her liver to a dying woman she had never met before.
There are more than 2,000 types of firefly in the world and it was the first time a species was named after a Hong Kong resident.
Cheng told local media that she was surprised and she thought the glowing feature of fireflies was like giving people positive energy. She said she will spare no effort to contribute to the society.
