Researchers from themolecular laboratoryin the department of Zoology and Wildlife Biology in the Government Arts College in Ooty have discovered a newwingless insectin the Nilgiris.
A research paper on the new species has been published in international journal Biologia published by Springer Nature. The 1mm-long flightless insect has been named Bionychiurus tamilensis as it was recorded in Tamil Nadu, said associate professor and laboratory head R Sanil. There are only six species under this genus reported so far across the world and reported only from cold high-altitude regions of Switzerland, China and Korea.
The insect was first observed in 2018 in the Soil samples collected fromOoty Government Arts Collegecampus. Further surveys showed its presence in grasslands and unpolluted humus soil samples.
DNA profiling was conducted and details are deposited in the NCBI Database. None of the similar specimens obtained from other parts of the world are barcoded till date.