The ingenuity of some scientists who are experts in biology is almost as great as their desire for the study and protection of nature. And if originality is needed to defend insects, the four researchers who star in this episode deserve an award.
José L Reyes-Hernández, Aslak Kappel Hansen, Josh Jenkins Shaw and Alexey Solodovnikov work at the Museum of Natural History of Denmark and the University of Copenhagen and in recent years have dedicated themselves, among other things, to revising taxonomy (classification and scientific name) of beetle species of the genus Loncovilius.
In the October 2023 edition of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society they publish the results of their work, highlighting the classification of six new species of these beetles native to South America. The article is interesting – for scientists – but it would not attract the attention of the general public if it were not a detail observed and highlighted by this quartet of entomologists in one of the bugs analyzed.
It turns out that the male specimens of this particular species have a penis that reminded scientists of the shape of a beer bottle opener. In reality, there are many types of bottle openers with caps or crown plates; and many drinks with this type of closure, but Reyes-Hernández and company have thought about beer.
More specifically, they have thought about one of the main beer brands in Denmark (the country where these scientists work), Carlsberg. Consequently, they have assigned this beetle the scientific name Loncovilius carlsbergi. The authors hope that this name (in addition to gratitude for the aid received from the Carlsberg Foundation) will serve to attract the attention of the general public to the growing problem of population decline and species extinction that affects insects.
According to researchers, it is urgent to pay more attention to the millions of unknown species on our planet before it is too late, explains the University of Copenhagen in a release of the results of this work.
For scientists, penises are more common in some lines of work than others. And for researchers studying insect biodiversity, penises play an important role in their daily workload, and for good reason, explains the University of Copenhagen.
Aslak Kappel Hansen details that “genitals are the organs of insects that evolve to be different in each species and the unique shape of each species’ genitalia ensures that they can only reproduce among equals.” For this reason, “they are often the best way to identify a species and that is why entomologists always look at the genitals of insects.”
The authors of this study reviewed specimens preserved in the Natural History Museum of Denmark in search of new features; They discovered six new species and one of them “immediately generated an association of ideas,” explains the university.
“This species is characterized, among other things, by the fact that the male’s sexual organ is shaped surprisingly like a bottle opener. That’s why it seemed logical to us to dedicate this species to the Carlsberg Foundation, which has generously supported independent research for many years. Their support for various projects, expeditions or the purchase of scientific instruments at the Natural History Museum of Denmark contributes to the discovery of new species on our planet,” says Aslak Kappel Hansen.
Researchers have no idea why the penis of this beetle has evolved in this way and they do not provide data to suggest that the female genital organ of this species is shaped like a beer cap.
In general, very little is known about the Loncovilius beetles that live only in Chile and Argentina. But because they live on flowers, they are considered very special in their family, since the vast majority of predatory beetles live in the ground, among dead leaves, under bark or on fungi.
“We suspect they play an important role in the ecosystem. So it’s worrying that almost nothing is known about these types of beetles, especially when they are so easy to spot, and some of them are even quite beautiful,” says Josh Jenkins. Shaw.
Climate change is exacerbating our planet’s current biodiversity crisis. This is likely to affect the newly discovered beetles as well.
“Loncovilius populations are likely to change in the coming decades. Our simulations show that at least three of the Loncovilius species are at risk because the rapidly changing climate will strongly shift more than half of their habitat area by 2060. Importantly emphasize that many more “Species will be affected by this change, but we do not know how, because only for four species we had sufficient data for our analysis,” indicates José L. Reyes-Hernández, lead author of the study.
