Latest news with #RuttaponSrisonchai
Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
‘Dragon' creature with many strange legs is a ‘striking' new species in Thailand
Hidden in southwestern Thailand's limestone caves, researchers encountered a 'very strange' and 'striking' insect with an unusual trait — some of its many legs were long, and others were short. The odd creature turned out to be a new species of dragon millipede, according to a study published June 25 in the journal Invertebrate Systematics. Alternaxytes bipectinata has a distinctive trait called heteropody, meaning its 'extremely long and slender' legs alternate between being long and short, according to the study. Millipedes belonging to the Polydesmida order typically have between 58 and 62 legs, according to experts. Researchers said this feature of 'having unequally long and short legs on each ring has never been reported before in any member of the family Paradoxosomatidae,' to which the new species belongs. This trait is so rare, it has only been observed in one other millipede family from South America not closely related to the new Thailand species, the study said. 'The function of heteropody in these species may be related to lateral or sideways motion,' researchers said. Further investigation in the field is needed 'to fully understand the ecological and evolutionary significance of this unusual trait.' The new species measures just under an inches long. It is described as being brown or dark brown and having 'very long and slender' antennae, according to the study. A single female specimen found at a survey site 'quite distant' from the others had a distinctly reddish color, indicating this, too, may be a new species, researchers said. Researchers created a new genus, Alternaxytes, to accommodate the new species as its characteristics do not match any others. Alternaxytes bipectinata is found primarily in limestone habitats in tropical rainforests with high rates of rain, according to the study. The specimens were found in moist dead leaf litter, while others were found crawling on tree branches and rock walls, researchers said. Since 2018, several new groups of millipedes have been discovered on the Malay Peninsula, according to the study. The region, carved up by changing sea levels, likely 'contributed to the remarkable species diversity in the region,' researches said. The research team included Ruttapon Srisonchai, Henrik Enghoff, Natdanai Likhitrakarn, Somsak Panha and Chirasak Sutcharit.
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
‘Shining' creature with ‘flat' back found at hotel in Laos. It's a new species
As a rainstorm passed over a hotel in a small town of Laos, a 'shining' creature with a 'flat' back emerged from its hiding place and crawled up a tree trunk. Something about it caught the attention of returning scientists — and for good reason. It turned out to be a new species. A team of researchers spent four years traveling the Southeast Asian country of Laos and surveying millipedes, according to a study published May 16 in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys. During a field trip in 2017, researchers returned to 'Phu Thevada Hotel in the evening following a rainfall, after a full day of collecting' specimens, the study said. To their surprise, 'the rainfall prompted millipedes and land snails to emerge.' Researchers collected dozens of millipedes from the ground and trees around the hotel. They took a closer look at the animals and realized they'd discovered a new species: Touranella srisonchaii, or Srisonchai's flat-back millipede. Srisonchai's flat-back millipedes can reach out about an inch in length, the study said. Their 'smooth and shining' bodies have 20 segments and 'moderately long' antennae. Photos show the black millipede and its 'pale yellowish' legs. Researchers said they named the new species after Ruttapon Srisonchai, a millipede researcher at Khon Kaen University, 'who has not only contributed to the study of millipede taxonomy in Thailand, but also collected the type series of this new species.' So far, Srisonchai's flat-back millipedes have only been found around Phu Thevada Hotel in Paksong, a city in southern Laos, a landlocked country bordering Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Phu Thevada Hotel shared a photo of the hotel building in a 2010 Facebook post. Much about the lifestyle and behavior of Srisonchai's flat-back millipedes remains unknown. The new species was identified by its genitalia and other subtle physical features, the study said. Researchers did not include a DNA analysis of the new species. The research team included Natdanai Likhitrakarn, Sergei Golovatch, Khamla Inkhavilay, Somsak Panha and Chirasak Sutcharit. The team also discovered two more new species of flat-back millipede, including one at an ancient Hindu temple.
