In the scorching Pilbara region of northwestern Australia, researchers have discovered a mysterious creature from the shadows – an elusive new species of ants, the genus Leptanilla. The new species, called Leptanilla voldemort (L. voldemort for short), is a pale ant with a slender body with bony legs and long, sharp jaws. The name of this species is a tribute to the dark wizard Lord Voldemort,
A new ant species, Leptanilla voldemort, has been discovered in the Pilbara region of Australia. Characterized by its pale, elongated body shape and subterranean habitat, it reveals the unique biodiversity and ecological mysteries of this ancient land. Source: Mark K. L. Wong, Jane M. McRae
Lord Voldemort is the formidable antagonist of the Harry Potter series, similar to the ghostly slenderness of this ant and the dark underground environment in which it is located.
Scientist Dr. Mark Wong of the University of Western Australia Mark Wong and Jane McRae of Benelonia's environmental consultants describe the mysterious new species in a paper published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
The full view of Leptanilla voldemort, showing its sharp jaws. Photo credits: Mark K. L. Wong, Jane M. McRae
Leptanilla voldemort was discovered during an ecological survey that documented the animals that lived beneath the arid Pilbara region of northwestern Australia. Only two specimens of this bizarre new species of ants have been found. Both specimens were collected with nets, which were lowered from a 25-metre-long borehole and cleverly fished up while scraping the inner surface of the borehole – an innovative technique for collecting subterranean organisms known as "subterranean scraping".
Unique features and speculations
Compared to other Leptanilla ant species, L. Voldemort's body is extremely slender, with long and thin antennae and legs. Coupled with the fact that it was collected from a 25-meter-deep borehole, this unusual morphology has led experts to speculate whether it really lives in the soil like other Leptanilla species, or if it has taken advantage of different underground shelters, such as air-filled voids and fissures formed in rock layers deep underground.
However, L. The long, sharp jaw of the voldemort leaves little room for imagination.
Two Leptanilla voldemorts collected in the Pilbara. Source: Mark K. L. Wong, Jane M. McRae
"Leptanilla voldemort is almost certainly a predator, a fearsome hunter in the dark. "We know from observations of the few specialized hunting behaviors of other Leptanilla ant species that these small worker ants immobilize much larger soil-dwelling centipedes with their sharp jaws and powerful stingers, and then take their larvae with them to eat the centipede's carcasses," said Dr. Huang, the study's first author. "
However, Voldemort's exact prey is unknown, but a variety of other subterranean invertebrates, including centipedes, beetles, and flies, have been collected from the same location.
Background to the discovery
There are more than 14000 species of ants worldwide, but only about 60 species belong to the genus Leptanilla. Unlike most ants, all species of Leptanilla are subterranean ants – their colonies are small, usually consisting of a single queen ant and a hundred or so worker ants, who nest and feed only underground. To adapt to life in the dark, Leptanilla worker ants are colorless. As Lilliputians members of the Ant World, these ants are only 1 to 2 millimeters in size, not much larger than a grain of sand, so they can move through the soil effortlessly. Due to their tiny size, pale body color, and unique underground dwellings, even ant experts can hardly find Leptanilla species, and much of their biological knowledge remains shrouded in mystery.
General landscape of the Pilbara region. Source: Mark K. L. Wong, Jane M. McRae
Australia has the highest level of ant diversity in the world – estimated at more than 1300 to 5000 species – and L. voldemort is just the second Leptanilla species found on mainland Australia. The first species, Leptanilla swani, was described nearly a century ago – discovered in 1931 from a small anthill found under a rock – and has been seen almost never since.
The formation of the Pilbara began about 3.6 billion years ago and is one of the oldest landmasses on Earth. Despite hot summers and scarce rainfall, it is home to globally important underground invertebrates. The discovery of the mysterious ant L. voldemort further enriches the unique biodiversity of this ancient land, a testament to the wonders of nature and the mysteries of life in the dark depths.
编译自/scitechdaily