Arunachal Pradesh: Two new rare ant species found in Eaglenest

ITANAGAR: Two new rare ant species were found in Arunachal Pradesh by a team of scientists from Bengaluru's Ashoka Trust For Research In Ecology And The Environment (ATREE).

The two species - parasyscia ganeshaiahi and syscia indica - were discovered at Arunachal Pradesh Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary.

The species parasyscia ganeshaiahi was named after eminent ecologist K N Ganeshaiah.

"This is the first time, the genus has been recorded in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India,” said the researchers.

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Parasyscia are small cryptic ants usually nest in decaying logs or under rocks. It is different from all congeners in India with its yellowish-brown coloured body and 11-segmented antennae. All other parasyscia species in India have 12-segmented antennae.

On the other hand, syscia are rare ants usually encountered in leaf litter, rotting wood, and soil habitats.

Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan-led team claimed to have found the species during their study at the sanctuary in the Himalayan foothills 1,400 m above sea level.

As of now, they have discovered over 60 species of insects including ants, dung beetles, fig insects, parasitic Hymenoptera over the last decade and a half. They also collected information on over 200 species of ants or almost 25% of Indian ant fauna from the sanctuary. Around 850 ant species have been reported in India.

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