Photo by Chen Chuntang, a newly discovered species in the coast of Zhejiang Province, the Chinese dipterocarp (male adult).
On April 12, the reporter learned that the internationally renowned top journal in the field of zoology, "zoologica scripta", published a new species of marine insects collected from Taizhou and Zhoushan in Zhejiang Province- the Chinese binary mosquito.
According to Dr. Lin Xiaolong of the School of Life Sciences of Nankai University, this species is a new species of the family Dipteridae, first discovered by Professor Qi Xin of the School of Life Sciences of Taizhou University in 2012 on the Xishan Islands of Zhoushan Islands, and has since been found in large quantities in marine fish ponds in Sanmen County, Taizhou.
Pictured: A newly discovered species in the coast of Zhejiang Province, the Chinese binary mosquito, photographed by Chen Chuntang
Qi Xin told reporters that the newly discovered marine insects have great differences in morphological characteristics, movement methods, and living environments from the known species of the family Pyropodidae. "In order to adapt to the life of the marine environment, although it has degenerative wings, it has lost its ability to fly and can only glide on the surface of the water."
In addition, the mating method of the Chinese binary mosquito is also very interesting. Lin Xiaolong introduced: "Male adults can glide quickly on the surface of the water and fight with other male adults to get the opportunity to mate with female adults stationary on the surface of the water. ”
It is reported that compared with the millions of known insects in the world, there are only a few thousand species of marine insects. Marine insects often have specific morphological structures and functions to adapt to harsh marine environments, and the most common marine insects are diptera and hemiptera.
Based on molecular systematics research, Lin Xiaolong said that the Chinese dipterocarp is a new species under the genus Diptera, belonging to the order Diptera, the family Dipteridae. Considering that the species' ancestors lived in freshwater as early ascetes, he speculates that the formation of the species may have been between 19 and 29 million years ago, when its ancestral taxa adapted to seawater habitats, producing specific morphological structures to cope with the harsh marine environment.
Qi Xin said that according to the observation of the Chinese dipterocarp found along the coast of Zhejiang, it appears in early summer or early autumn every year, and the large-scale feathering period is about two weeks. "We speculate that its larvae can live in seawater and are ideal for the opening of marine aquatic economic animals (such as marine fish, blue crabs, etc.), and we will further study this new species."
Source: China News Network
Author: Fan Yubin Zhu Lingfei
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