A new species of ant was discovered in Australia and named after Voldemort
[ad_1]
Leptanilla voldemort ant
Mark KL Wong, Jane M. McRae/ZooKeys
A new species of ant was discovered in Australia. Due to its paleness and habit of living deep underground, the insect was named after the main antagonist of Harry Potter – Voldemort.
This ant is probably a predator, informs IFLScience citing research, published in the scientific journal ZooKeys.
Two specimens of the ant were found in the Pilbara region in northwestern Australia. To do this, scientists lowered the net into a 25-meter hole and scraped its walls.
The new species was named Leptanilla voldemort. They have very thin bodies, long spindle-shaped antennae and legs, and long, sharp mandibles (upper jaws). These ants are practically transparent.
As the scientists noted, the name of the species “pays homage to the antagonist of the Harry Potter book series, Lord Voldemort, a terrifying wizard who, like the new ant, is slim, pale and thrives in the dark.”
Leptanilla voldemort ants have an almost transparent body
Mark KL Wong, Jane M. McRae/ZooKeys
“Leptanilla voldemort is almost certainly a predator, a fearsome hunter in the dark. This is supported by what little we know of the hunting behavior of other Leptanilla ant species,” said study co-author Mark Wong.
According to him, Leptanilla ants are able to immobilize centipedes much larger than them in order to feed on them.
What exactly L. voldemort preys on is not known, but the area has a number of subterranean invertebrates such as centipedes, beetles and flies.
Leptanilla is a genus of hard-to-catch ants, which includes about 60 species. They form small colonies and nests and feed exclusively underground.
Ants of this genus are pale, blind and tiny – only 1-2 millimeters in size. Because of this, they are rarely found and little studied.
L. voldemort is the second species of the genus ever documented in Australia. The first, Leptanilla swani, was described in 1932 and since then it has hardly been seen.
We will remind, in Australia found a new species of beetle nicknamed “punk” because of its long white spiky hairs.
[ad_2]
Original Source Link
