Rainer Willmann, former Head of the Zoological Gallery at the University of Göttingen, has depicted and ordered previously unknown types of scorpionflies from Nepal.These species have a place in a totally new sort, for which Willmann has presented the name “Lulilan.” His paper was distributed in the journal Commitments to Entomology.
“The presence of the newfound scorpionflies could barely be more odd,” says Willmann.
The guys have a spindly, very extended midsection, toward the finish of which is a huge organ — with long, getting a handle on pliers — for mating.
The bugs have a body length of several centimeters; they are particularly large.The bugs were caught by Mainz zoologist Jochen Martens and his partner from Stuttgart, Dr. Wolfgang Schawaller. As of recently, just one such animal type was known, and that was found precisely a long time ago.
“This is an incredible illustration of how identical qualities evolve separately, possibly as a result of similar evolutionary stresses,”
Zoologist Professor Rainer Willmann
“In spite of their risky-sounding name, scorpionflies are totally harmless to people,” says Willmann. Their name comes from their round genital section, which seems to be the sting of a scorpion. They likewise have a particular, extended head.
In Europe, there are a couple of types of scorpionflies. “More types of Lulilan likely exist in Nepal and the surrounding areas,” Willmann says. Up to this point, only the females of certain kinds are known. In contrast to the guys, in any case, the females have none of these trademark highlights, so it is more difficult to imply that order.
From the scorpionflies previously depicted, only the species Leptopanorpa, which is native to Sumatra, Java, and Bali, has grown in such a specific mid-region.In any case, it isn’t firmly connected with Lulilan.
“Here comparable qualities arise freely, maybe because of comparable developmental tensions,” says Willmann.
More information: Rainer Willmann, Neue Skorpionsfliegen (Mecoptera, Panorpidae) aus Nepal, Contributions to Entomology (2022). DOI: 10.3897/contrib.entomol.72.e97277
