Student discovers 18 new species of aquatic beetle in South America

JUNE 22, 2020

by Brendan M. Lynch, University of Kansas

It would be striking for a seasoned entomologist with decades of fieldwork to discover such a large number of species unknown to science. But for University of Kansas student Rachel Smith, an undergraduate majoring in ecology & evolutionary biology, the find is extraordinary: Smith recently published a description of 18 new species of aquatic water beetle from the genus Chasmogenus in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys.

"The average size of these beetles, I would say, is about the size of a capital 'O' in a 12-point font," said Smith of the collection of new species. "They spend a lot of their life in forest streams and pools. They're aquatic, so they're all great swimmers—and they can fly."

The research involved Smith traveling to Suriname to perform fieldwork as well as passing countless hours in the lab of Andrew Short, associate professor of ecology & evolutionary biology and associate curator with KU's Biodiversity Institute, who co-wrote the new paper.

Smith said many of the aquatic beetle species are virtually indistinguishable simply by looking at them, even under a microscope.

"Something unique and fascinating about this genus, particularly the ones I worked on, is that many look almost exactly the same," she said. "Even to my trained eye, it's hard to tell them apart just based on external morphology. Their uniqueness is in there but kind of hidden in this very uniform external morphology."

To identify the new species, Smith compared DNA evidence from the aquatic beetles with a few external morphological differences that could be observed. But this was not enough: Much of Smith's work also hinged on dissecting these tiny specimens collected in northeastern South America to spot key differences in their internal anatomy.

"Because it's difficult to tell them apart from external morphology, you kind of have to go inside," she said. "I ended up doing over 100 dissections of these beetles to extract the male genitalia and look at it under a microscope. That really was the true way to tell them apart. Ultimately, it came down to male genitalia and genetic divergence that I used to delimit many of these species."

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Latam Eco Review: Killing jaguars for arthritis creams and wine

by Mongabay.com on 2 November 2018

The top stories last week from our Spanish-language service, Mongabay Latam, followed the fate of Suriname’s hunted jaguars, Bogota’s urban forest preserve, and Chile’s Humboldt Archipelago.

Suriname’s jaguars killed for arthritis creams and wine

Suriname’s jaguar population is being decimated for the Asian market in arthritis cream, soap, aphrodisiacs and even wine, according to an investigation by World Animal Protection. The inquiry uncovered a chain of hunting and secret trade with high evidence of animal cruelty. Local hunters sell the jaguars for around $260 to Chinese traffickers. Jaguars are increasingly being substituted for tigers, which have become rare, to meet Asian demand for wildlife parts.

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New species of South American rabbit discovered

Date: May 16, 2017

Source: Portland State University

A Portland State University researcher discovered that a rabbit known for centuries to exist in South America is different enough from its cousins to be its own unique species.

"At a time when species are going extinct every day, it's encouraging to know we can add one back on the list of survivors," said PSU biology professor Luis Ruedas.

His findings will be published May 17 in the Journal of Mammalogy.

Ruedas made his discovery after studying rabbit specimens at the Naturalis museum in Leiden, in The Netherlands. The specimens, collected in 1983 from the small country of Suriname on South America's northeast coast, were labeled as South American cottontails.

Ruedas studied the anatomy of the museum specimens and determined they were larger and shaped differently than other rabbits throughout South America -- so much so that they deserved to be classified as a distinct species.

The creature will be only the third new rabbit species named in South America since the start of the modern classification system 260 years ago.

Read on 

6 frogs, 1 snake, 11 fishes and many insects discovered in Suriname

Conservation International finds new species and climate-resilient sources of freshwater and other ecosystem services in the most remote forests in the greenest country in the world

October 2013. An international team of field biologists studying the mountainous region of Southeastern Suriname - a wilderness area virtually without any human influence and among the most remote and unexplored tracts of rainforest left on Earth - has documented an amazing richness of biodiversity, including 60 species that are likely new to science and unique species that may exist nowhere else on Earth. They also found a wealth of ecosystem services whose protection will be essential for the country's climate resilience, freshwater security, and green development strategy. 

Water - The key resource

Amongst the key findings of the three-week 2012 expedition is the importance of fresh water in the region. The area's mountain ranges contain the headwaters of some of the largest rivers in Suriname, providing vital water for transportation, food (especially fish), drinking and sanitation for approximately 50,000 people in the surrounding areas as well as along the river and as far as Paramaribo, the country's capital near the Atlantic coast. 

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Worst fish-kill in recent times off Guyana and Suriname

In what authorities believe is one of the worst fish-kills in recent times, a lot of Curiass is being washed up on the Guyanese and Surinamese foreshores, apparently due to murky Atlantic Ocean waters and the discharge of freshwater into the sea.

The Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture says mostly dead Cuirass have been sighted since January 9 and the situation peaked on January 20 when a “significant amount of dead fish was observed on the beaches in the area.

Consultations with Surinamese Fisheries Department officials have revealed that similar occurrences of dead fish have been observed in the vicinity of Nickerie and Coronie during the same period, the ministry here stated.

“An on the spot observation conducted by the Regional Fisheries Officer revealed that the gills were heavily coated with sling mud and slime. This condition may have resulted in oxygen deprivation to the fish resulting in death,” Guyana’s Fisheries Department added.

While the observance of dead fish is said to an annual occurrence by local fisherfolk in both countries, Guyana’s Fisheries Department believes that  this year’s was  “noticeably worse” and may have resulted from one of or a combination of factors.

They include turbidity of the water in the area – caused by excessive rainfall in the general region resulting in excessive cloudiness of the water due to suspended particles from the rivers which flow into the ocean and reduced dissolved oxygen levels. The other major factor could have been a high fresh water discharge – the high discharge of fresh water from the rivers may have disrupted the salinity content of the water in the area which could adversely affect fish in the area.

The University of Guyana’s Biodiversity Centre is expected to conduct tests on samples collected on January 22 to determine the cause of death of the fish. Results will be available several weeks later.

The Fisheries Department said it was also conducting continuous water quality tests to determine the effects of the rainfall on the water quality in the area.

According to officials, the situation has improved greatly since Sunday January 22 and Wednesday, with far less dead fish observed on beaches along the Upper Corentyne Coast. “The situation is being continually monitored by staff of the Fisheries Department,” the Agriculture Ministry department said.

http://www.demerarawaves.com/index.php/201201253191/Latest/worst-fish-kill-in-recent-times-off-guyana-and-suriname.html

Crayola Katydid & Cowboy Frog Among 46 Newfound Jungle Species

A spiny armored catfish and a cowboy frog are among 46 species that may be new to science discovered in the South American country of Suriname, researchers now reveal.

The species were discovered in a scientific expedition into southwest Suriname, which holds one of the world's last pristine tropical forests.

"Our team was privileged to explore one of the last remaining areas of vast, unroaded wilderness in the world," said Trond Larsen, director of Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program. "As a scientist, it is thrilling to study these remote forests where countless new discoveries await, especially since we believe that protecting these landscapes while they remain pristine provides perhaps the greatest opportunity for maintaining globally important biodiversity and the ecosystems people depend upon for generations to come."

The three-week survey, an initiative of the nonprofit Conservation International, explored three remote sites along the Kutari and Sipaliwini Rivers near the village of Kwamalasumutu from August to September 2010 to catalog the regions' wildlife and help develop sustainable ecotourism opportunities for the local indigenous people. The expedition included 53 scientists, indigenous Trio people, and students.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/18105-46-species-hiding-suriname-jungles.html