Latest news with #LouisDuPreez
IOL News
2 days ago
- Science
- IOL News
'See you later, alligator' gets new meaning in science
A parasitic flatworm found in the eye of an alligator is named after North-West University's Professor Louis Du Preez. Image: Supplied. The parasitic flatworm found in the eye of alligator in the US has been named after South African parasitologist, Professor Louis Du Preez. Image: Supplied. WHO said science was dull? Not when a newly discovered parasite is named with a wink to the classic slang, 'See you later, alligator.' After decades of poking crocodilians in the eye, South African parasitologist Prof Louis du Preez has been honoured for his work by having a parasite named after him: Latergator louisdupreezi. Du Preez, from North-West University, is a parasitologist and herpetologist who focuses his research on amphibians and their parasites. Chuckling this week, Du Preez told the Independent on Saturday that he was honoured that a team of US researchers named a parasitic flatworm, which was found in the eye of an alligator, after him. 'Other people will probably have pity for me, but for me it's a great honour.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'The reason for that was I've been working on this group of flatworms for more than 30 years now, and for 30 years I've been looking for this parasite on the eye of a crocodile, because we find this type of parasite on the eye of freshwater turtles and on the eye of the hippopotamus. And I've always suspected that one day we will find it in the eye of a crocodilian.' Crocodilians include crocodiles, alligators and gavials. Determined to prove his theory, Du Preez dissected crocodiles at crocodile farms in South Africa and examined animals that had been removed from nature. In the US, he dissected more than a hundred alligators looking for the parasite. He even swam with alligators for some of his research. 'So it's living on the surface of the eye and it's living off the mucus on the surface of the eye. It doesn't harm the crocodile at all, or the turtle or the hippo, but it may irritate them a little bit. So they are parasites because they live off another animal, but they don't kill the animal, they don't harm them. It is just evolutionary, a very old association that developed over a very long time, and so we use the parasites. By studying the phylogeny of the parasites we learn more about the hosts and how the hosts evolved and spread over the world.' For example, they established that some of the parasites from turtles in America jumped onto turtles in Europe, because people imported turtles from America, and scientists were able to trace the route back to the turtles from America. 'But this one now in the crocodile or in the alligator, that's a very first. And maybe one day we will find one in Africa, but there are no guarantees.' So what does this discovery mean for science? 'For us as parasitologists, it will provide quite a lot of information regarding the evolutionary development of these parasites. And I suspect that the parasite got transferred or migrated from a freshwater turtle to a crocodile. It's the same type of parasite. The turtles are evolutionarily way out, and the crocodile is a bit younger. And we will have to confirm at the molecular level.' In May next year, Du Preez will join the US researchers who named the parasite after him and, he hopes, find more of these parasites. 'There will be a crocodile culling event, or alligator cull, because there are too many of them in this part of America. And then they will allow us to have a look at the carcasses.' Du Preez previously named two parasites, one after his supervisor in Bloemfontein, another after a well-known professor in France, and another person in the US. 'Science is great and even today we find new things. And that's the beauty of science, it's that search for the unknown. And I hope that through my work and research that I inspire young people. And I try to, with the projects that we give students, to create opportunities for students to not only to enjoy but also to appreciate nature.'
Times
25-06-2025
- Science
- Times
New species of rain frog found — that can't jump or hop
South African researchers have discovered a species of rain frog that has a unique call, an extremely short snout and can't hop. It's been named Breviceps batrachophiliorum, which means 'frog-loving people' in Latin, because it was found by frog enthusiasts, not scientists. A group of nature lovers in KwaZulu-Natal province went in search of Bilbo's rain frogs, named after Bilbo Baggins from JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit, and in 2018 they found the new frog by accident. Nicknamed the Boston rain frog, after a village in the high-altitude grasslands where it lives, it has now been confirmed as a unique species after studies on its call and genetics. The Boston rain frog is 35mm, eats mainly termites and other small insects, and can't hop but can only walk, according to Louis du Preez, the professor of zoology at North-West University in South Africa who led the research. • Vampire hedgehog and eyelash viper among new species in Asia 'It's a bloated little golf ball with short legs,' du Preez explained. He said that while the Boston rain frog, like most frogs, has poison in its skin, its camouflage colouring and the fact it lives in a burrow are its main protection against predators. The Boston rain frog is from the same African Breviceps genus as the Bilbo's rain frog. Frogs from this group are burrowers that live underground except for when they surface to feed or breed — hence one species being named after a hobbit. They lay their eggs in underground chambers and their tadpoles emerge and complete their development not in the water but in a mass of foam in the nest chamber. Asked what the main significance of his research was, du Preez said: 'It's definitely that it is a threatened species … so from a conservation respect it's very important.' • Amateur discovers new species of pterosaur in Australian outback Because the species is believed only to be found in a limited geographic range, du Preez says that it warrants inclusion on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's red list, for species threatened with extinction. The frog's discovery also reveals that the population of Bilbo's rain frogs is smaller than previously believed. Each frog species has a unique call, and du Preez found that the Boston rain frog's call had been recorded previously, during a 1999 survey near Boston village. However, no specimens were found at the time so researchers tentatively assigned the call to a Bilbo's rain frog. That this has now been disproved means the area where the Bilbo's rain frog is actually found is smaller than previously thought, du Preez said, 'so suddenly Bilbo goes up to critically endangered'.
