Researchers find two new beetle species in India
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New Delhi: Two new species of beetle were found in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh by the scientists of the Zoological Survey of India. Such a discovery is happening after a gap of 127 years.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change tweeted to announce the discovery and shared the images of the beetles. The post read, "Two new beetle species have been discovered in India after 127 years in the genus Melolontha, bringing the total number of Indian species to 12. These discoveries were made by examining specimens dating back to 1992 and 2015, housed at @ZoologicalI, Kolkata."
They were found after examining specimens dating to 1992 and 2015. They belong to the genus Melolontha, bringing the total number of Indian species to 12.
Devanshu Gupta, a senior scientist, told EastMojo that the team was working on the National Zoological Collection of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata when they found beetle specimens of two species, which were unique in their structure and appearance, and after investigations found them as new to science.
They have been named Melolontha arunachalensis and Melolontha lachugensis based on the localities they were discovered.
The larvae hatch in 4-6 weeks, mainly feeding on plant roots like potatoes. The closest relative of the new species is found in Laos and Vietnam.
Beetles are the most common type of insect and biologists think there are at least 400,000 species of beetles right now. This makes the most varied type of animal on the planet. They are found everywhere except in the oceans, Antarctica, and the Arctic. However, they are built to withstand intense cold and some are even semi-aquatic.
