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A new
insect order...
An international team of scientists announced that a new insect order
(group) has been found to exist in Africa.
The newly-discovered insect called Mantophasmatodea, which has been dubbed
"gladiator" by the scientists who dicovered. Scientists from the National Museum
of Namibia, which led the expedition, said that they uncovered the new inspect species in
Namibia's remote Brandberg mountains.
This latest discovery will bring the total insect orders in the world to 31.
A new insect order was last discovered in 1915 when another cricket-like insect was
found to occur above the snow line on very high mountains in North America, Europe and
in Asia.
The discovery, according to the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture, is
being compared to "major twentieth century discoveries like the Coelecanth fish and
Wollemi pine tree - all species thought to be extinct". The press release said the story
behind the discovery "sounds almost like a real-life enactment of the film Jurassic Park."
Live and dead specimens of the
insect will be
sent on loan to Germany for study. The study will determine the exact habitat requirements
of the order, and individuals will be observed to get more information on the behaviour
and food requirements of the insect.
Some insects will have to be killed to obtain specimens for the proper description of
the species. However, it seems to be a problem to feed the insects that will be transported
to Germany.
One of the entomologists, Phil Bragg, said because of the terrain and other ecological
factors at Brandberg the insect appears to have had no interaction with other species
and may have remained like that for thousands of years.
The global attention the Brandberg area might receive as a result of the discovery
could encourage local and international agencies to assist Namibia to establish
management structures for conservation in the area.
Once such management is in place, Namibia will be able to nominate the Brandberg to
Unesco as a World Heritage Site and possibly also a World Biosphere Reserve.
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