Credit: Mark K. L. Wong, Jane M. McRaeIn the sun-baked Pilbara region of northwestern Australia, researchers have actually discovered a mystical animal from the shadows– a new ant types of the evasive genus Leptanilla.The brand-new species, Leptanilla voldemort– L. voldemort for short– is a pale ant with a slim develop, spindly legs, and long, sharp mandibles. The types name pays tribute to the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, the fearsome villain of the Harry Potter series, drawing parallels with the ants slim and ghostly look, and the dark underground environment, from which it has emerged.Scientists Dr Mark Wong of the University of Western Australia and Jane McRae of Bennelongia Environmental Consultants explain the enigmatic brand-new types in a paper published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.A full-face view of Leptanilla voldemort, showing its sharp mandibles. Credit: Mark K. L. Wong, Jane M. McRaeWhile Australia boasts some of the greatest levels of ant diversity in the world– with estimates ranging from 1,300 to over 5,000 species– L. voldemort is only the second Leptanilla types discovered from the continent.
Credit: Mark K. L. Wong, Jane M. McRaeIn the sun-baked Pilbara area of northwestern Australia, scientists have actually found a strange animal from the shadows– a new ant species of the elusive genus Leptanilla.The new types, Leptanilla voldemort– L. voldemort for brief– is a pale ant with a slender build, spindly legs, and long, sharp mandibles. The species name pays homage to the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, the fearsome villain of the Harry Potter series, drawing parallels with the ants ghostly and slender look, and the dark underground environment, from which it has emerged.Scientists Dr Mark Wong of the University of Western Australia and Jane McRae of Bennelongia Environmental Consultants describe the enigmatic brand-new types in a paper published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.A full-face view of Leptanilla voldemort, revealing its sharp mandibles. Credit: Mark K. L. Wong, Jane M. McRaeWhile Australia boasts some of the greatest levels of ant variety in the world– with estimates varying from 1,300 to over 5,000 species– L. voldemort is only the 2nd Leptanilla types found from the continent.
