INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
New Delhi: Two new species of a rare ant genus have been discovered in Kerala and Tamil Nadu by a team of scientists, the Department of
in the Periyar Tiger Reserve of Kerala has been named Ooceraea Joshii in honour of professor Amitabh Joshi -- a distinguished evolutionary
biologist from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), a DST institute."The species of the ant genus Ooceraea
found in Kerala and Tamil Nadu add to the diversity of this rare genus
They differ from others of the same genus on the basis of the number of antennal segments," the DST said.New species are typically named
after some distinguishing attribute or location but are often named after scientists as a means of honouring their research contributions to
spotted with 10-segmented antennae among this rare genus, were discovered by a team led by Prof
Himender Bharti of Punjabi University, Patiala
The discovery has been published in the journal ZooKeys," the DST added.The genus is currently represented by 14 species of which eight
possess nine-segmented antennae, while five possess 11-segmented antennae and one species has recently been reported with eight-segmented
ant species with 10-segmented antennae discovered, establish an old world lineage that contains a species emerging as the only model
organism among the ant subfamily," the statement added.Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and
