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Cool Zoology Stories of 2021

Happy New Year! As 2022 begins, here are some interesting stories from the world of zoology in 2021.

The leggiest animal on earth was discovered

Species Concerned: Eumillipes persephone

Family: Siphonotidae (Siphonotid Millipede Family)

IUCN Conservation Status: Unassessed

Source:  https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2021/december/first-millipede-with-more-than-1000-legs-discovered-Australia.html

In April of 2020 a prospecting expedition attempting to locate valuable minerals in the Eastern Goldfields of western Australia accidently exposed a strange-looking millipede at a depth of 160 meters (around 197ft) below the surface. Following extensive inspection, genetic analysis and the discovery of several other individuals it was determined earlier this year that what the expedition unearthed was a never-before documented species, which has now been given the name Eumillipes persephone. While the discovery of any new species is an exciting event, Eumillipes persephone is also a record breaker – females of this species may have as many as 1306 legs, which means that it has more legs than any other known animal.

Eumillipes persephone seems to spend its entire life underground, with its long, thin, slender body allowing it to travel through thin burrows while its many legs propel it along. Like many animals that live in total darkness it lacks eyes and has very little pigmentation, seemingly finding its way around using a pair of short yet highly sensitive antennae. “Eumillipes” translates roughly to “true millipede”, as despite the fact that the word millipede translates to “thousand feet” this is the first and thus far only species known to possess a thousand legs. “Persephone” refers to the Greek goddess of the same name who is noted for being the queen of the underworld, in reference to Eumillipes persephone’s subterranean lifestyle.

 Females of this species are longer than males and have more legs (with 818 currently being the record for a male, compared to 1306 for a female.) The body of a millipede consists of a large number of small segments each with 2 legs attached to them, and as a young millipede grows it gradually develops more segments, and thus more legs. As there is currently little known about Eumillipes persephone it is unknown whether the individuals encountered so far are adults, and as such it is possible that this species may have the potential to possess an even greater number of legs.

A wild Shelley’s Eagle Owl was photographed for the first time

Species Concerned: Shelley’s Eagle-Owl (Bubo shelleyi)

Family: Strigidae (Typical Owl Family)

IUCN Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Source: http://www.sci-news.com/biology/shelleys-eagle-owl-photograph-10214.html

On the 16th of October 2021, Dr Robert Williams and Dr Joseph Tobias managed to photograph a Shelley’s Eagle-Owl in Atewa forest in eastern Ghana. This marked the first time the species had ever been photographed in the wild.

 Despite its large size (growing to be over 60cm long) sightings of Shelley’s Eagle Owl are extremely rare. There are several reasons for this – it is strictly nocturnal, naturally rare, found only in dense forests and in decline due to the destruction of its forest habitat. Its rarity means that little is known about its biology, but it is known to exist in a handful of populations across western Africa and is believed to spend the day roosting in dense trees, taking flight at night to search for mammals and large birds to prey on. Williams and Tobias spotted the owl as it slept in a nearby tree, and shortly after the photo was taken it took flight and was not encountered again for the remainder of their expedition.

 Atewa forest is one of the most ecologically diverse areas of western Africa, and although it is classified as a protected site by the Ghanan government it is threatened by the illegal logging, the poaching of species of ecological and cultural significance and mining operations, particularly for bauxite (a mineral that is used in the commercial production of aluminium.) Williams and Tobias have expressed hope that the international attention drawn to the Shelley’s Eagle-Owl following their sighting will encourage further action to be taken to preserve Atewa forest and other areas of significance to the species.

A species of rodent thought to have gone extinct over a century ago was found hiding in plain sight

Species Concerned: Djoongari (Pseudomys gouldii)

Family: Muridae (Mouse Family)

IUCN Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Source: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2021/june/australian-rodent-thought-extinct-found-alive-on-desert-island.html

From late 2020 to early 2021 a team of 6 biologists studying the genomes of 50 species of Australian rodents (42 extant and 8 extinct) in an effort to better understand the catastrophic declines in the populations of Australian rodents since European arrival on the mainland made a surprising discovery – the genome of one of the extinct species they were studying, known as the Gould's Field Mouse, was identical to that of one of the living species, the Djoongari (also known as the Shark Bay Mouse), suggesting that the two species were actually one and the same and that the Gould’s Field Mouse had been surviving under a different name after previously been determined to have gone extinct at some point in the 1830s or 40s.

 The Djoongari is a small, plump-bodied rodent that was once widespread across Australia, but is now found only on 4 islands off the country’s western coast. Found mainly in coastal habitats it is nocturnal and spends the day sheltering in its burrow, emerging at night to feed on fruits, flowers, mushrooms and small arthropods as well as look for mates. The introduction of invasive predators such as the Red Fox and Domestic Cat alongside other factors such as human encroachment onto its habitat has led to the disappearance of Djoongari populations on the mainland and there are fears that the introduction of similar threats to the last islands on which the species can be found may lead to further declines, and as such several projects operating both nationally and internationally (including the genetic analysis project that determined that the museum specimens thought to have been the remains of the extinct Gould’s Field Mouse in fact belonged to this species) are endeavoring to better understand the threatened species in order to allow for their conservation.

The Arabian Cobra became the 12,000th species added to the Photo Ark

Species Concerned: Arabian Cobra (Naja arabica) 

Family: Elapidae (Elapid Family)

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

Source: https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2021/11/16/arabian-cobra-joins-national-geographic-photo-ark-as-the-12000th-species/

The National Geographic Photo Ark is an ambitious photography project lead by the American photographer Joel Sartore that aims to photograph every species of animal housed in captivity worldwide in an effort to raise awareness of the threats they face and promote action to contribute to their conservation, with particular emphasis being placed on species that would not typically receive attention such as those that are very small, very rare or generally seen as unlikable. 2021 marks the 15th anniversary of this project, and on the 16th of November 2021 the Arabian Cobra (a large, venomous snake native to the western Arabian Peninsula) became the 12,000th species to be photographed by Sartore and his team. Impressively, this is the second milestone the photo ark reached in 2021 – in February Dichagyris longidens, a small and poorly studied species of owlet moth that has very rarely been documented alive, became the 11,000th species photographed.

A sparkly new species of fly named after RuPaul went viral

Species Concerned: Opaluma rupaul

Family: Stratiomyiidae (Soldier Fly Family)

IUCN Conservation Status: Unassessed

Source: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2021/september/fabulous-new-rainbow-fly-with-legs-for-days-named-after-RuPaul.html

Named in honour of the famous American drag queen RuPaul, Opaluma rupaul is a long-legged, rainbow-coloured species of fly in the solider fly family that is found only in Australia. Although it was first named in September of 2020, it wasn’t until 2021 that the news of the species’ naming became widely circulated.

 Opaluma rupaul is one of 6 newly described species that make up a unique new genus of flies, Opaluma (which translates roughly to “Opal thorns”, in reference to the species’ striking colouration and a series of small thorny protrusions that line their undersides.) The species was named by Dr Bryan Lessard, an Australian entomologist whose research specialises in the taxonomy and evolution of medically important fly species, and who has previously named another species of fly, Scaptia beyonceae after the popular American singer-songwriter Beyoncé. Dr Lessard’s decision to name the species after RuPaul was inspired by the species’ iridescent and colourful exoskeleton, which resembles some of the outfits worn on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

The Tequila Splitfin returned to the wild after 18 years

Species Concerned: Tequila Splitfin (Zoogoneticus tequila)

Family: Goodeidae (Splitfin Family)

IUCN Conservation Status: Endangered 

Source: https://www.reversethered.org/stories/tequila-splitfin

Also known as the Tequila Fish, the Tequila Splitfin is a small species of live-bearing freshwater fish native to the Ameca river that runs through western Mexico (its name being derived from Volcán de Tequila, a large volcano located near the site at which the species was first identified.) Pollution of the Ameca river and the introduction of invasive species such as the Guppy with which it must compete has led to catastrophic declines in Tequila Splitfin populations throughout the 20th century which continued into the 21st century, leading to the species being declared extinct in the wild in 2003 with only captive members of the species surviving. In November of 2021 a population of around 15,000 Tequila Splitfins were released into a protected site near the town of Teuchitlán, and while the species remains endangered due to its small population it has non the less returned to the wild. This marks the first successful reintroduction program of a Mexican fish species, which is of great significance due to the numerous threatened fish species native to Mexico.

 The reintroduced fish are all descended from a small captive population originating from Chester Zoo in England, which were donated to Michoacana University in Mexico following the Tequila Splitfin’s disappearance from the wild. These fish were bred by the university until a captive population of around 10,000 fish had developed, and in 2016 these populations were introduced to a controlled pond in order to test their ability to survive factors they would face in the wild such as seasonal variations in food abundance, varying temperatures and competition with other species. In order to ensure that the protected pool in which all wild Tequila Splitfins now reside was able to support the species over 2,500 individuals belonging to invasive species had to be removed, and with the aid of residents of Teuchitlán the university was able to create an environment in which the Tequila Splitfin as well as other indigenous species threatened by invasive fish species could survive. It has been confirmed that the reintroduced population is now breeding, providing hope for the continued survival of this species in the wild.

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