Camouflage serves as a means of protecting many animals against their predators. This also applies to insects.
However, their camouflage is still a problem for scientists and researchers due to the difficulty of finding them. In this way, these beings often manage to go unnoticed by the eye. human, making its identification and study difficult.
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Sertanejo-root, José Costa, 75, graduates in Animal Science in AL
Zookeys magazine revealed in one of its articles this month the discovery of seven new species of insects that resemble leaves or branches. Animals belong to a specific group called Phasmatodea which shares this characteristic of defense against predators.
Learn more about the research
(Photo: Vishwanath Gowda [A]/Maxime Ortiz [B and C]/Reproduction)
The study on the insect species found was carried out in a partnership between the University of Göttingen, in Germany, and the City University of New York, in the USA.
Scientists determined during the study that the animals analyzed were part of “cryptic species”.
This characteristic means that insects cannot only be identified based on their physical characteristics. Therefore, they present visible differences in their genetics and in the formation of organisms, with distinctions between similar insects.
The seven discoveries are part of an assessment carried out using insect species collected in the field, museum records and samples from private collectors. This makes it possible to identify these new variations.
Difficulty in discovering insect species
The difficulty in recognizing these species occurs not only because of their camouflage, but also due to the need for genetic evaluation of the being.
In some cases, animals may look very similar to other species, only showing clear differences in the study, when carried out in more depth.
Therefore, the discovery of new insects is important both for their systematic study and for the conservation of these groups. The end of a single species can have enormous impacts on the fauna and flora of the place where they are commonly found.
Therefore, the research covers this movement towards the conservation of these types and the identification of new ones that may emerge.
In this way, it is possible to keep these species monitored and with their physical and genetic characteristics defined through research.