Nelloptodes gretae
| Nelloptodes gretae | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Nelloptodes gretae | ||||||||||||
| Darby , 2019 |
Nelloptodes gretae is a blind dwarf beetle ( Ptiliidae ) from East Africa . It was described by Michael Darby in October 2019 and named after the Swedish climate protection activist Greta Thunberg . His antennae reminded the researcher of her braids.
description
The tiny beetle is golden yellow and 0.79 millimeters long. He has neither eyes nor wings. In the middle of his head is a small pit. The most striking feature are the long, braid-like antennae. It lives in the ground and feeds on fungal hyphae and spores .
Others
The newly described species of beetle was found in soil samples from Kenya and Uganda as early as the mid-1960s . The entomologist William C. Brock took soil samples from all over East Africa between 1964 and 1965 and donated them to the Natural History Museum in London in 1978 . Michael Darby, a research fellow at the museum, recently took a closer look at it. He discovered the little beetle and decided to name it after Greta Thunberg. It is one of nine documented dwarf beetle species of the newly described genus Nelloptodes .
literature
- Michael Darby: Studies of Ptiliidae (Coleoptera) in the Spirit Collection of the Natural History Museum, London, 6: New species and records collected by WC Block in Kenya and Uganda, 1964–1965 . Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, Volume 155, Number 4, October-December 2019, pp. 239-257, doi : 10.31184 / M00138908.1554.3999
Web links
- Natural History Museum London - New species named after climate activist Greta Thunberg (Accessed November 1, 2019)