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A uncommon thread-legged assassin bug described from Siju Cave successful Meghalaya a period agone has been rediscovered by scientists from the Andaman Islands, highlighting affluent biodiversity of the less-explored subterranean ecosystem of the archipelago.
Two thread-legged assassin bug specimens collected by a squad of biologists from limestone caves successful the Andaman Islands successful 2019 were identified arsenic Myiophanes kempi, a taxon that had not been reported for the past 100 years aft its archetypal statement by British entomologist Willian Edward China successful 1924.
A insubstantial connected the rediscovery and redescription of the taxon aft a period was published successful the diary Subterranean Biology recently.
“The taxon has not been reported successful the past 100 years nor illustrated ever before,” said Manchi Shirish S., Principal Scientist with the Conservation Ecology part astatine the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (Sacon), Coimbatore, and the corresponding author.
According to the study, uncovering of Myiophanes kempi successful the Andamans is important due to the fact that the taxon was not recovered during a survey of Siju Cave successful the Garo Hills by researchers successful 2019. The taxon has been rediscovered from a akin cave situation implicit 1,000 km southeast.
The specimens collected from the Andamans were matched with photographs of 1 syntype pistillate (out of the six specimens collected from Siju Caves successful 1922 and described by W.E. China successful 1924) that are preserved successful the Natural History Museum, London.
Belonging to the subfamily of Reduviidae, this slender-bodied assassin bug is simply a specialised predator of the subterranean ecosystem and lives successful its implicit lifecycle successful the darkness. It uses the agelong raptorial forelegs for snatching prey -- tiny arthropods of the acheronian cave environment.
Dhanusha Kawalkar and Pooja Patil from Sacon, and Hemant V. Ghate from the Department of Zoology, Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce (Autonomous), Shivaji Nagar, Pune, co-authored the study, funded by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and The Habitats Trust.
