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Beetle named after coronavirus among 88 new species discovered by researchers
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A photo collage showing some of the species that were recently discovered by National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) researchers, including a new beetle species, the Trigonopterus corona (top right, white background), that was named after SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. (Courtesy of BRIN/-)
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esearchers from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), who also collaborated with scientists from other countries, have described 88 new flora and fauna species throughout last year, including a new beetle species named after the coronavirus.
A species description is the formal description of the features of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. It is also the process that validates the scientific name of any new species.
The agency’s head of life science research organization, Iman Hidayat, underlined the importance of the discovery of the new species, particularly as it would open up more research opportunities in the future.
While the majority of the new species were discovered in Indonesia, particularly from Sulawesi, BRIN researchers have also collaborated with other scientists to examine specimens from other countries, namely Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.
Of the newly discovered species, animals made up the large share, with 75 new species that include beetles, shrews, snakes, worms, shrimp and fish.
Sixty-eight percent of the newly identified animal species were endemic to Sulawesi, while the remainder, which includes lizards, frogs, cockroaches and birds, were discovered across several areas.
An entomologist from BRIN, Pramesa Narakusumo Germany, said fieldwork had been conducted in Mount Dako, Central Sulawesi, in 2018 and in Mount Pompangeo, Central Sulawesi, in 2020, during which the research team found as many as 28 new beetle species, including a new species named after the new coronavirus.
