Latest news with #Hymenoptera
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Science
- The Hindu
Rediscovery of the Losgna genus in India: a new species of parasitic wasp discovered in Chandigarh, named - ‘Losgna Occidentalis'
At a time when habitat loss and climate change threaten countless species, the discovery of a new species of parasitic wasp - named 'Losgna Occidentalis' from Chandigarh has drawn attention to the unexplored richness of India's biodiversity. A recent study published in Zootaxa, a peer-reviewed scientific journal for animal taxonomists, titled - 'Rediscovery and description of a new species of Losgna (Cameron 1903): reviving a forgotten ichneumonid genus (Darwin wasps) in India' - points out the rediscovery of the Losgna genus in India, after close to six decades, and describes 'a new species collected from an urban dry scrub forest in Chandigarh.' 'The solitary Losgna (wasp) specimen was collected from a windowsill in Chandigarh, during winter 2023–24. This locality marks the first time any new insect species has been formally described from Chandigarh. The specimen belongs to a parasitic wasp (family Ichneumonidae), a group known for laying eggs inside or on other arthropod hosts. Prior to this discovery, Losgna had not been recorded in India since Heinrich's 1965 monograph. No records, specimens or published literature on Losgna existed in any Indian institution after 1965. It appeared that the genus had vanished entirely from its once‐documented range in northeast India until we found this new specimen in Chandigarh,' Karmannye Chaudhary, who led the study, a researcher in bird ecology and insect taxonomy at the Queen Mary University of London, told The Hindu. 'We named the new species 'Losgna occidentalis' because it represents the westernmost known occurrence of the genus: prior records came exclusively from tropical forests of eastern India and adjacent regions of Southeast Asia. 'Occidentalis' signifies this western extension,' he said. Pointing out that the only existing specimens of any Losgna species are those preserved at the Natural History Museum, London, The Hope Collection, Oxford University and the Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM), Munich - all dating from the British era, Mr. Chaudhary said, 'No other collections -Indian or international - were found to hold Losgna material between 1965 and our study.' 'As a researcher of Hymenoptera, I'm thrilled by the discovery of Losgna occidentalis. It highlights the importance of solid taxonomic work and shows how young people, and even citizens, can find new species in their own backyards. This project also exemplifies valuable international collaboration between institutions like the NHM and Oxford, which is vital given how underfunded and poorly coordinated taxonomy has become. Hymenoptera are crucial as pollinators and biological control agents, so identifying and describing new species is essential for understanding and conserving our ecosystems. I hope this discovery inspires others to explore local habitats, collect specimens responsibly, and collaborate across borders to document India's hidden biodiversity,' said Ritesh Kumar Gautam, scientist at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
Jordan News
30-04-2025
- Science
- Jordan News
World's oldest Ant discovered in Jordanian Amber. - Jordan News
World's oldest Ant discovered in Jordanian Amber. 140-million-year-old ant discovered in Jordanian amber, the oldest ant in the world, was discovered by Abbas Haddadin. Scientists say that ants evolved from a species of wasp 100 million years ago, because they discovered a 100-million-year-old ant in Myanmar amber, which was written about by the scientist George Poyner. اضافة اعلان However, researcher Abbas Haddadin discovered an ant in Jordanian amber that was 140 million years old. Thus, the evolution of ants from wasps occurred 150 million years ago, according to Haddadin. Hymenoptera also evolved from each other, so Haddadin found 11 species of wasps in Jordanian amber that are 140 million years old. He will write about them with pictures. The picture shows the Jordanian ant, 140 million years old.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'Hell ant' fossil may be oldest ant ever found
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A newly discovered "hell ant" fossil may be the oldest ant ever found, scientists say. This fossilized insect was unearthed in what is now northeastern Brazil and lived around 113 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago), according to a new study published April 24 in the journal Current Biology. "Our team has discovered a new fossil ant species representing the earliest undisputable geological record of ants," study co-author Anderson Lepeco, a researcher at the Zoological Museum of the University of São Paulo in Brazil, said in a statement. "What makes this discovery particularly interesting is that it belongs to the extinct 'hell ant,' known for their bizarre predatory adaptations." The newly discovered ancient ant species, which researchers have named Vulcanidris cratensis, had scythe-like, upward-facing jaws, which it may have used to seize and impale its prey. "Despite being part of an ancient lineage, this species already displayed highly specialized anatomical features, suggesting unique hunting behaviors," Lepeco said. There are more than 12,000 species of ants on Earth today, and they can be found in diverse environments, from rainforests to deserts. They belong to the family Formicidae, which is part of the order Hymenoptera (which also includes bees and wasps). Ants are thought to have evolved from wasp-like ancestors around 140 million years ago. Haidomyrmecinae, also called "hell ants," were an extinct subfamily of ancient ants that lived during this period. A handful of previous hell ant species have been discovered in amber fossils in Myanmar, France and Canada, dating back around 100 million years, which until now were the earliest known ant fossils. These hell ants had a bizarre head and jaw structure unlike anything seen in modern ants, with upward-curved jaws instead of inward- or downward-curved jaws like modern ants, which could snap shut vertically. Many species also had horn-like projections above their mouths, which are thought to have clamped against the jaws to trap prey. One previously discovered 99 million-year-old fossil even captured a hell ant in the act of killing prey, frozen in amber mid-strike. The newfound species of hell ant was preserved in limestone in the Crato Konservat-Lagerstätte geological formation in Brazil, which was once located in the north of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. The fossil was then rediscovered by researchers among a collection housed at the Zoological Museum of the University of São Paulo. "When I encountered this extraordinary specimen, we immediately recognized its significance, not only as a new species but as potentially the definitive evidence of ants in the Crato Formation," Lepeco said. "This finding highlights the importance of thorough examination of existing collections — private or in museums — and brings a spotlight to Brazilian paleontology and the underexplored fossil insect fauna of the country." At 113 million years old, this ant is the earliest ant specimen ever discovered, and is also the first hell ant to be discovered preserved in rock, Lepeco noted. Using micro-computed tomography imaging, a technique that uses X-rays to see inside an object, the researchers confirmed that the ant species was a hell ant, identifying the characteristic upward-facing jaws. RELATED STORIES —Watch 5,000 fire ants create raft with their bodies to save colony and queen from death by swimming pool —3,000-year-old mummified bees are so well preserved, scientists can see the flowers the insects ate —Horrifying close-up photo of an ant is the stuff of nightmares The fact that this ant is the earliest ant ever found and already possessed the same iconic scythe-like jaws as other hell ants, suggests that these traits evolved early after ants first appeared. The researchers also discovered that this newfound species of ant was likely closely related to other hell ants found preserved in amber in Myanmar, meaning that ants were already widely distributed across the globe sooner than scientists had assumed. "Finding such an anatomically specialized ant from 113 million years ago challenges our assumptions about how quickly these insects developed complex adaptations," Lepeco said. "The intricate morphology suggests that even these earliest ants had already evolved sophisticated predatory strategies significantly different from their modern counterparts."
