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In Australia’s Pilbara area, a brand new ant species, Leptanilla voldemort, has been found. It’s characterised by its pale, slender type and underground habitat, shedding gentle on the distinctive biodiversity and ecological mysteries of this historical panorama. Credit score: Mark Okay. L. Wong, Jane M. McRae
Within the sun-baked Pilbara area of northwestern Australia, researchers have found a mysterious creature from the shadows – a brand new ant species of the elusive genus Leptanilla.
The brand new species, Leptanilla voldemort – L. voldemort for brief – is a pale ant with a slender construct, spindly legs, and lengthy, sharp mandibles. The species identify pays homage to the darkish wizard Lord Voldemort, the fearsome antagonist of the Harry Potter sequence, drawing parallels with the ant’s ghostly and slender look, and the darkish underground atmosphere, from which it has emerged.
Scientists Dr Mark Wong of the College of Western Australia and Jane McRae of Bennelongia Environmental Consultants describe the enigmatic new species in a paper revealed within the open-access journal ZooKeys.
A full-face view of Leptanilla voldemort, exhibiting its sharp mandibles. Credit score: Mark Okay. L. Wong, Jane M. McRae
Leptanilla voldemort was found throughout an ecological survey to doc animals dwelling belowground within the arid Pilbara area of north-western Australia. Solely two specimens of the weird new ant species had been discovered. Each had been collected in a internet that was lowered down a 25-meter drill gap and skilfully retrieved whereas scraping in opposition to the opening’s interior floor – an revolutionary method for accumulating underground organisms referred to as ‘subterranean scraping’.
Distinctive Traits and Speculations
In comparison with different Leptanilla ant species, L. voldemort has a particularly slender physique in addition to lengthy, spindly antennae and legs. Along with its assortment from a 25-meter-deep drill gap, this uncommon morphology has left consultants speculating as as to whether it really dwells in soil like different Leptanilla species, or exploits a unique subterranean refuge, such because the air-filled voids and cracks that type inside layers of rock deeper underground.
The lengthy, sharp jaws of L. voldemort, nevertheless, go away little to the creativeness.
The 2 people of Leptanilla voldemort collected in Pilbara. Credit score: Mark Okay. L. Wong, Jane M. McRae
“Leptanilla voldemort is nearly absolutely a predator, a fearsome hunter at nighttime. That is backed up by what we all know from the few observations of specialised looking behaviors in different Leptanilla ant species, the place the tiny staff use their sharp jaws and highly effective stings to immobilize soil-dwelling centipedes a lot bigger than them, earlier than carrying their larvae over to feed on the carcass” stated Dr. Wong, lead writer of the examine.
The precise prey of L. voldemort, nevertheless, shouldn’t be recognized, although quite a lot of different subterranean invertebrates, together with centipedes, beetles, and flies, had been collected from the identical locality.
Context of the Discovery
There are over 14,000 species of ants worldwide, however solely about 60 belong to the enigmatic genus Leptanilla. In contrast to most ants, all species of Leptanilla are hypogaeic – their small colonies, often comprising a queen and solely 100 or so staff, nest and forage completely underground. To adapt to life in darkness, Leptanilla staff are blind and colorless. The lilliputian members of the ant world, these ants measure simply 1 to 2 millimeters – not a lot bigger than a grain of sand – permitting them to maneuver effortlessly by the soil. Resulting from their minuscule dimension, pale coloration, and distinctive underground dwellings, discovering Leptanilla species is a problem even for skilled ant scientists, and far of their biology stays shrouded in thriller.
A common panorama of the Pilbara area. Credit score: Mark Okay. L. Wong, Jane M. McRae
Whereas Australia boasts among the highest ranges of ant variety on the earth – with estimates starting from 1,300 to over 5,000 species – L. voldemort is simply the second Leptanilla species found from the continent. The primary, Leptanilla swani, was described almost a century in the past – from a small colony discovered underneath a rock in 1931 – and has virtually by no means been seen since.
With its formation starting roughly 3.6 billion years in the past, the Pilbara is likely one of the oldest land surfaces on Earth. Regardless of the scorching summers and meager rainfall, the area harbors globally essential radiations of underground invertebrates. Including to the distinctive biodiversity of this historical panorama, the invention of the enigmatic ant L. voldemort is a testomony to the wizardry of nature and the mysteries of life within the depths of darkness.
Reference: “Leptanilla voldemort sp. nov., a gracile new species of the hypogaeic ant genus Leptanilla (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Pilbara, with a key to Australian Leptanilla” by Mark Okay. L. Wong and Jane M. McRae, 11 April 2024, ZooKeys.
DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1197.114072
