Scientists from the Zoological State Collection and the State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe have discovered up to twenty-four new beetle species in Australian rainforests; the species will mark the newest additions to the weevil genus Trigonopterus.
Although Australia is known for its vast deserts and savannas, many native Australian species are confined to the wet tropical forests that are found along the east coast of northern Queensland, which is where the new beetle species were found. Many of the new findings were collected in the 80s and 90s and were discovered by researcher Alexander Riedel, who co-authored the recent study.
"Usually a delay of decades or even centuries occurs between the encounter of a new species in the field and its thorough scientific study and formal naming," he said in a press release. "This is due to the small number of experts who focus on species discovery. There are millions of unidentified insect specimens stored in collections around the world, but only few people have the training necessary to identify those of special interest."
Old museum specimens are typically not ideal for DNA sequencing techniques, which work better on freshly collected material, prompting the team to set off to the field, leading to the discovery of the Trigonopterus garradungensis.
Each of the newly discovered weevils were found in very restrictive areas - some were even found in only one locality - likely due to their lack of wings decreasing their ability to spread. Additionally, many of them were found in leaf litter, making their discovery more difficult.
In addition to the study, high-resolution photos of each of the newly discovered species will be uploaded to the Species ID website along with further scientific information in order to make future studies on their evolution more effective.
The findings were published in the Jan. 21 issue of ZooKeys.
