Scientists from Greece and Russia have discovered a new species of insect in the famous Valley of Butterflies on the island of Rhodes.
While visiting the Valley during a nighttime expedition, biologist Sotiris Alexiou discovered and collected a new species of cricket.
The sample was sent to Russian entomologist Andrey Gorotsov in St. Petersburg, who announced it was a new species and named it “Ovaliptila rhodos” in honour of the island where it was found.
The new species is endemic to Rhodes, specifically to the Valley of Butterflies, and has so far not been found anywhere else in the world. It is nocturnal and prefers the humid conditions found under the valley’s plane trees and oriental sweetgum.
An article with the description of the new species was published in the scientific journal by the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg.