After putting himself among the greats of football following a spectacular performance in the 2026 World Cup, Cape Verde's goal keeper secures another special honour.
As reported by the BBC, to highlight the extraordinary efforts of Vozinha, a newly discovered species of slugs has been named after him.
Newly discovered species named after Vozinha
The small red mollusc was discovered by biologist Jesus Ortea in the Caribbean, and he chose to name it after the 40-year-old star of the Cape Verde.
Named Aldisa vozinha, the new species is a small red sea slug measuring around four millimetres that had previously been unknown to science before being described in Ortea's published work Historias de la Bioadversidad.
Cape Verde's World Cup run
Cape Verde exited the World Cup 2026 in the Round of 32, when hey lost 3-2 in extra time against Argentina.
Before being eliminated, Vozinha made headlines for his defence against Spain, which ended with a draw and gave the country their first World Cup point.
Why named after Vozinha?
Addressing the choice of name, Jesus Ortea said he wanted to highlight Vozinha's "prominent role" and pointed out it also came due to a team nicknamed La Roja - The Red One.
"The red colour of the dedicated species is a reminder of his feat," read his report.
Vozinha's off-pitch legacy
Vozinha's fame skyrocketed following his performance, as he has gone from 50,000 Instagram followers before the World Cup to now more than 28 million followers.
Biologist Jesus Ortea linked to Cape Verde
Ortea, professor emeritus at the University of Oviedo, was awarded a Medal of Merit by the island nation in 2023 for his work in the waters around Cape Verde.
