Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India discovered a new insect species, Allocaecilius nilgiriensis, in the Nilgiri Mountains. This tiny barklouse lives in damp, high-altitude rainforests. Researchers found the insects on tree bark, where they feed on fungi and algae. This discovery helps clear up past confusion about these unique creatures.
Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India have discovered and described a new insect species, Allocaecilius nilgiriensis, marking only the second time a member of this unique barklouse genus has ever been recorded in the country. Found across the lush landscapes of the Southern Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and Keralam, the new species brings the total number of known Allocaecilius species worldwide to thirteen.
Unlike many insects found widely across open fields, these tiny barklice are specialised inhabitants restricted to the damp, shaded canopies and understories of high-altitude shola and evergreen rainforests in the southern Western Ghats. Barklice are a vital microscopic clean-up crew, grazing harmlessly on the surface of tree bark, feeding on mould, fungi, algae, lichens, and dead organic debris
Researchers collected the specimens by beating dead leaves and green vegetation in the forests, gathering them in enamel trays before preserving them for microscopic examination of their external structures and complex genitalia. Researchers named Allocaecilius nilgiriensis after its native home, the Nilgiri Mountains.
What sets Allocaecilius nilgiriensis apart from its global relatives are distinctive brown patches located in specific distal cells (R_1, R_3, and R_5) of its forewings, alongside specialised thumb-like structures on the male's lower abdomen (hypandrium) and a deeply indented subgenital plate in females.
This discovery of both male and female specimens helps clear up historical taxonomic confusion often caused by species described from only a single sex, providing a solid scientific benchmark for future insect research in the Oriental region.