James Tweed, a scientist and PhD prospect at the University of Queensland’s School of the Environment, was outdoor camping near Lamington National Park near Queensland, Australia, when he spotted something that appeared like bird poop. It wasn’t bird poop, however, it was a fuzzy beetle. And it wasn’t simply any fuzzy beetle; it was a new species.
Image courtesy of James Tweed informed UQ(University of Queensland )News that when he realized what he was seeing on a leaf was a beetle, he thought it was “the most remarkable and fluffiest longhorn beetle I had ever seen.”
He stated the beetle determined less than half an inch (9.7 millimeters) and explained it as “a striking red and black beauty covered in long white hairs.”
After returning from his camping trip, Tweed spoke with experts in an effort to determine the fuzzy beetle, however no one could.
Dealing with entomologists at the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC), Tweed compared his fuzzy beetle to ANIC’s big collection of specimens and came to conclusion that the beetle was not just a brand-new types but likewise a new genus.
Image thanks to Lingzi Zhou, Australian National Pest Collection The new beetle’s scientific name is Excastraalbopilosa, which approximately equates to “white and hairy [beetle] from the camp.”
The species is formally explained in a research study published last month in the Australian Journal of Taxonomy.
A camper found what appeared like bird poop, but it wasn’t. It was a fuzzy beetle. In reality, it was a totally brand-new types of fuzzy beetle.