Maculambrysus gallicei, a new species of aquatic bug described from Finca Las Piedras

Our main goal with everything we do is to protect biodiversity in southeastern Peru, and a key way we're working towards that is to study the organisms that surround us at Finca Las Piedras. Oftentimes this means documenting species at the site, or monitoring the impacts of human activities on their population trends. But sometimes, we document something that was previously completely unknown to science; we call these 'new' species. When this happens, it's important to describe the new species, since without a name there can't even be a legal framework for protection, let alone coordinated action should the new species turn out to be threatened upon further examination. Robert Sites, a taxonomist and one of our research partners, has just described a new species of aquatic saucer bug, Maculambrysus gallicei, from a stream at FLP. As Robert notes in his study, the species was not found in surveys of neighboring streams, and so it is currently only known from our property. This highlights not only how much is left to study in the region, but the importance of our work to protect the rainforest, even small parts of which may harbor unique biodiversity.

We're thrilled to start the new year with this amazing discovery! Read our paper to learn more about this new aquatic insect from FLP.

Sites 2024 A new species of Maculambrysus (Hemiptera- Heteroptera- Naucoridae) from an agu.

Download • 5.39MB