By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency has discovered new species of insects, plants, fish and other invertebrate species.
The agency said 117 new insects, three plants, four marine fish, one frog, and 14 other invertebrates have been discovered.
The discoveries have been branded a “win for biodiversity”, with researchers particularly excited about one ant, CSIRO entomologist Dr David Yeates said on Monday.
About 100 of the new species the CSIRO scientists helped to describe are Australian.
They include the first millipede to actually have more than 1000 legs, found 60 metres underground in a mining area in Western Australia; a new mountain frog; and four new marine fish.
Among the insects was a new genus of beetle, undarobius, that has two species that are the first weevils found in Australia to have evolved to live in caves.
The species were discovered in lava caves at Undara Volcanic national park in north-eastern Queensland.
Yeates said the known but newly named ant, Anonychomyrma inclinata, was special, as it supports the endangered bulloak jewel butterfly, Hypochrysops piceatus.
“The ecological requirements for this beautiful butterfly are very narrow, which is probably why it is so rare,” Yeates said.
“The ant species we’ve now named needs to be nesting in a mature bulloak, Allocasuarina luehmannii.
“The butterfly caterpillars live under bark and are carried to soft bulloak leaves to feed at night by ‘babysitter’ ants.
“The ants protect the caterpillars from predation and receive a sugary gift from the caterpillars, a win-win for both species.”
John Pogonoski, a CSIRO fish scientist, helped name four new species of marine fish including three brightly coloured anthias, rarely seen because they live deeper than divers usually go.
CSIRO experts say only about a quarter of Australia’s flora and fauna have been formally recorded, but the process was vital in understanding and protecting the country’s vast ecosystems.
