ATREE researchers rediscover long-lost species after 111 years

Typhoperipatus Williamsoni was seen in the Siang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh. | Photo credit: special arrangement

A team of Ashoka Trust researchers for research in ecology and the environment (Dare) had reported rediscovering a kind of long duration of velvet worms (Phylum Onychophora), one of the world’s oldest living fossils in the world, after 111 years.

Appointed Typhopperipatus WilliamsoniThe ancient species, estimated at around 220 million years, was seen by the team in the Siang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh and the rediscovery was published in the Natural History Magazine. The study provides the first molecular data for the species.

Tracking the colonial paths

According to the document, T. Williamsoni He was first collected during the “ABOE” expedition by Stanley Kemp, the former Superintendent of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, and his team in December 1911 in Siang Valley. Since the discovery of Kemp, there have been no documented records of India.

The specimens were seen under the stones while looking for ants in the season before the monsoon. | Photo credit: special arrangement

Between 2021 and 2023, the Dare team comprises Surya Narayanan, Dr. Priyadarsan, AP Ranjith, R. Sahanashree and Aravind Neelavar Ananthram, together with the National Geography Society and the creation of Fell, followed the paths of the aborts. This time, the researchers found two individuals from T. Williamsoni for the first time from your description. Interestingly, the specimens were seen under the stones while looking for ants in the season before the monsoon.

Living fossils

“Onycophora is a very old group, easily more than 350 million years.

“These were evolving almost simultaneously with dinosaurs. When mass extinction occurred, many of them were probably annihilated. What we see today are mainly those species that escaped from extinction.”

The rediscovery of T. WilliamsoniThat he was or so extinct, he could also help solve a biogeographic mystery, he said.

Folding a corner

Molecular data of T. Williamsoni He indicated that the onicophors of southern Asia separated from their neotropical (Central and South America, including the parts of southern Mexico and the Caribbean) and only African relatives about 237 million years ago.

The rediscovery of T. WilliamsoniA naturally strange species is critical in terms of addressing the gap in the evolutionary history of Asian peripátidas. | Photo credit: special arrangement

Interestingly, it was discovered that the Asian onycophore did not have relatives in Australian onicophors. This is unusual since the invertebrates found in Southeast Asia and India are common related to those of Australia. Asian Onychophora is one of the few exceptions to this relationship.

“This rediscovery could turn biogeographic history and could tell us more about how this small group of animals ended in Asia from the neotropics, which was always a puzzle,” said Mr. Narayanan.

More species

The metallic blue ant, Parapararatrechina neela“More than 15 new The species of parasitic wasps, a mollusk and a gecko are among the other published discoveries.

The metallic blue ant, Parapararatrechina neela“More than 15 new The species of parasitic wasps, a mollusk and a gecko are among the other published discoveries. | Photo credit: special arrangement

“We can take a few more years to discover all the new species that we have collected in the expedition,” said Mr. Priyadarshanan, who was part of the team. He added that more expeditions will be heroes in the region.

While the rediscovery of T. WilliamsoniA naturally rare species is fundamental in terms of addressing the gaps in the evolutionary history of Asian peripátidas, the document indicates that their natural habitat faces significant threats for expanding agriculture, deforestation and parking for cutting and burning and the cutting and burning stacture and brushing and parking and courtesy. The study requires the conservation of these habitats and a broader sampling in the region.