It was a stifling scorching day in Athens on July 17, 2017, however Mr Sotiris Alexiou he had the time off from his job as a taxi driver and wasn’t going to overlook the chance to window shop. He climbed Hymettos and spent hours lifting stones from the bottom and punctiliously putting them again in place. Below the stones, you see, one typically finds bugs. And certainly, beneath a marble slab outdoors the church of Agios Efstathios, on the japanese aspect of the mountain, the sweating Mr. Alexiou discovered a inexperienced grasshopper which “gave the impression to be making an attempt to keep away from the excessive temperatures”. However the insect observing him with its shiny pink eyes was not simply any grasshopper, it was the grasshopper that the passionate naturalist had been looking for for 4 years. And along with the dizziness of the warmth, the unsuspecting insect inevitably suffered the shock of entomological abstinence.
The primary suspicions that it was an unknown species got here in 2013, when Mr. Alexiou recognized a primary specimen outdoors the archaeological website of Vravrona. However because it was one and solely, he most popular to not dissect it however to maintain it entire. The second assembly in Hymettos allowed the whole morphological examination and confirms the invention of a brand new species of Orthoptera in Greece, Mr. Alexiou now writes in his research in «Journal of Orthoptera Analysis».
Locusts in isolation
The species was named Eupholidoptera kekrops, or “Cecropus Eupholidoptera”, in honor of the legendary first king of Attica and founding father of Athens. “Eupholidoptera are comparatively giant, landless grasshoppers, that means they do not fly however solely bounce utilizing their lengthy hind legs,” he instructed the STEP-Science Mr. Alexiou. The bugs of the precise genus, he mentioned, come from an ancestral species that lived “within the Aegean of the final tens of millions of years, when the ocean was restricted, the land prevailed and our islands as we see them right now had been mountain tops. Terrestrial species may transfer and migrate comparatively simply.” As sea ranges rose, remoted populations developed into new species.
“There are lots of examples of citizen scientists who’ve printed research on the fauna and flora of Greece, whereas some additionally preserve wonderful private collections of pure specimens.”
“In Greece we have now 23 species [του γένους]of which 10 are endemic to Crete” mentioned Dr. Christos Georgiadishis entomologist Division of Biology of EKPA. “Particularly for Attica, the brand new species E. kekrops is the one endemic of the area” he mentioned. He agreed with the morphological variations described within the research, which he famous was additionally carried out with the contribution of Dr. Luc Willemse of the Naturalis Biodiversity Middle in Leiden, the Netherlands, a outstanding Orthoptera knowledgeable.
Citizen science
One cause that Hymettos’ locust has been ready within the drawer for a very long time is that Mr. Alexiou is just not an expert entomologist, within the sense that he doesn’t have the parchments of a PhD. He studied at Agricultural College of Athens however right now he works as a motorist in Loutraki, the place he lives together with his household. He taught himself the demanding technical particulars of entomology and has found different new species of bugs.
The spectacular factor is that Mr. Alexiou is just not a novel case. “There are lots of examples of citizen scientists who’ve printed research on the fauna and flora of Greece, whereas some additionally preserve wonderful private collections of pure specimens” identified Dr. Georgiadis. The creation of the Corinthian Museum of Pure Historical past, co-founded by Mr. Alexiou, was additionally based mostly on a personal initiative of amateurs and professionals. That is the place the “unlucky” is saved right now grasshopper of Hymettoswhich nonetheless has the honour of being the official “holotype” on which the definition of the brand new species is predicated.
Greece, the land of locusts
One cause why the invention of latest animals and vegetation is frequent in Greece is the excessive biodiversity of the nation, in comparison with others in Europe. Particularly with regard to Orthoptera, i.e. locusts and crickets, “we will say that the nation maintains the biggest variety of species per space in all of Europe” mentioned Dr. Georgiadis. “Even areas which have been studied previously might harbor species which have but to be found.” And, because the devoted Mr. Alexiou put it, Greece is a rustic the place “whoever seeks finds”.
“Particularly for Attica, the brand new E. kekrops species is the one endemic of the area”
The explanation why bugs are in danger
In comparison with bigger and photogenic animals, comparable to mammals and even reptiles, bugs and invertebrates typically stay unrecognized teams to today. And this regardless of the essential features they carry out in ecosystems, comparable to pollinating vegetation, recycling vitamins to fertilize the soil, or their position as predators and prey in a fancy meals internet.
“Bugs are essentially the most quite a few group of species in our nation. We all know concerning the existence of about 20,000 species, however many extra nonetheless stay unknown – the invention of the brand new species of locust in Attica is a telling instance” commented to BHMA-Science Panagiota Maragouhead of environmental safety applications at WWF Greece. “Though we’re quickly anticipating the brand new Pink Checklist of threatened species of Greece, typically we have no idea precisely what number of and which species are threatened with extinction or how pressing the state of affairs is,” he mentioned.
“Bugs are essentially the most quite a few group of species in our nation. We all know concerning the existence of about 20,000 species”
What is definite, nonetheless, is that bugs are in danger from the lack of pure areas, chemical air pollution, gentle air pollution and local weather change, he mentioned. “As well as, many insect species in Greece are endemic and are present in very particular areas that don’t exceed a number of tens of sq. kilometers, a cave or a rocky island,” he emphasised. In different phrases, endemic species of bugs might disappear earlier than we even uncover them, whether or not on an island or a mountaintop, or subsequent to Athens.
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