HONG KONG: Several thousands of kids catch fireflies on almost any summer night, few in any end up discovering new species. This is what happened when University of California, Riverside, student Joshua Oliva discovered a new species of firefly.
There are some 2,000 species of fireflies in the world, and the chances of discovering a new species on a random night of bug collection in Southern California would be near to impossible.
But a University of California, Riverside student Joshua Oliva was the lucky one to discover an entirely new species of firefly.
Oliva was collecting insects for a class project when he caught this new firefly species. Doug Yanega, senior museum scientist, said in a press release that Oliva was not 100% certain it was a firefly, and brought it to him for confirmation.
“I know the local fauna well enough that within minutes I was able to tell him he had found something entirely new to science. I don’t think I’ve seen a happier student in my life”, said Yanega.
He said the discovery is unusual for a variety of reasons like the species was confirmed as being unique so quickly after it was collected.
In explanation, Yanega said it is typical for specimens of new insect species to sit in a collection for a decade or more before an expert comes along to recognize that it’s something new.
He also pointed out that researchers at UC Riverside discover a few dozen new insect species every year from across the world, including new local species.
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