Life on Mars? Lichens survive Martian simulation

Previously presumed uninhabitable, the Martian surface may be suitable for certain lichen species.

A thin atmosphere, freezing temperatures, and a barrage of radiation: the surface of Mars is hardly a prime holiday destination. But can any life survive there?

Known for their extreme tolerance to harsh environments such as Earth’s deserts and polar regions, lichens have long been considered a leading candidate for Martian survival. And, for the first time, researchers have demonstrated that certain species can survive Mars-like conditions, including exposure to ionising radiation, while maintaining a metabolically active state.

Published in the open-access journal IMA Fungus, a new study highlights the potential for lichens to survive and function on the Martian surface, challenging previous assumptions that the planet is uninhabitable.

Annotated design showing the set up of the experiment subjecting lichens to Mars-like conditions.
Experiment arrangement of vacuum chamber with the additional facility, including metal grate with lichens, cooling table, temperature, pressure and humidity sensors, X-ray lamp with the controller, CO2 valve with cylinder, controllers of vacuum chamber, pressure, cooling table, and computer.

But what exactly are lichens? It’s a little complicated. In fact, lichens are not a single organism, but rather a symbiotic association between a fungus and algae and/or cyanobacteria.

In this study, the fungal partner in lichen symbiosis remained metabolically active when exposed to Mars-like atmospheric conditions in darkness, including X-ray radiation levels expected on Mars over one year of strong solar activity.

Macro photograph of a lichen species.
Cetraria aculeata.

The research focuses on two lichen species (yes, there are lichen species despite them being a symbiosis), Diploschistes muscorum and Cetraria aculeata, selected for their differing traits. The lichens were exposed to Mars-like conditions for five hours in a simulation of the planet’s atmospheric composition, pressure, temperature fluctuations, and X-ray radiation.

The findings suggest that lichens, particularly D. muscorum, could potentially survive on Mars despite the high doses of X-ray radiation associated with solar flares and energetic particles reaching the planet’s surface. These results challenge the assumption that ionising radiation is an insurmountable barrier to life on Mars and set the stage for further research on the potential for extraterrestrial microbial and symbiotic survival.

“Our study is the first to demonstrate that the metabolism of the fungal partner in lichen symbiosis remained active while being in an environment resembling the surface of Mars. We found that Diploschistes muscorum was able to carry out metabolic processes and activate defense mechanisms effectively. 

“These findings expand our understanding of biological processes under simulated Martian conditions and reveal how hydrated organisms respond to ionizing radiation – one of the most critical challenges for survival and habitability on Mars. Ultimately, this research deepens our knowledge of lichen adaptation and their potential for colonizing extraterrestrial environments.”

Lead author of the paper, Kaja Skubała.

Further long-term studies investigating the impact of chronic radiation exposure on lichens have been recommended, as well as experiments assessing their survival in real Martian environments. 

Researchers from Jagiellonian University and the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences conducted the study with support from the National Science Centre, Poland, and the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” at the Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University.

Original study

Skubała K, Chowaniec K, Kowaliński M, Mrozek T, Bąkała J, Latkowska E, Myśliwa-Kurdziel B (2025) Ionizing radiation resilience: how metabolically active lichens endure exposure to the simulated Mars atmosphere. IMA Fungus 16: e145477. https://doi.org/10.3897/imafungus.16.145477

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Exquisite but endangered: new ‘fairy lantern’ flower discovered in Malaysia

The tiny new Thismia species is threatened by habitat degradation.

Species belonging to the genus Thismia are some of the strangest and most magical-looking in the plant kingdom, which has earned them the nickname ‘fairy lanterns.’

No exception to the rule, a newly discovered Thismia species from eastern Peninsular Malaysia looks like something that belongs in a fantasy world.

Take a look below.

Thismia aliasii.

Standing just 11 cm tall, Thismia aliasii is an easy-to-miss and Critically Endangered new species described in the open-access journal PhytoKeys.

The genus Thismia consists of plants that are mycoheterotrophic, meaning they do not photosynthesise and instead rely entirely on fungi for their nutrition. The unusual flowers seen on Thismia species facilitate specialised pollination mechanisms involving small insects such as fungus gnats.

Thismia aliasii was first documented by co-author Mohamad Alias Shakri in 2019 during a field expedition in Terengganu’s Chemerong Forest Eco Park, not far from a hiking path.

“The discovery of Thismia aliasii is very interesting as it was found in a mountainous region known for its natural beauty. The discovery was made on the edge of a popular mountaineering trail, but, remarkably, the species was first recognised by Alias.

“It was not easy to obtain specimens for further study as its habitat is on the mountain and COVID time delayed search efforts. Fortunately, targeted field work to find this plant was successful with the support of NAGAO.”

Siti-Munirah Mat Yunoh, co-author of the paper.

Thismia aliasii is provisionally classified as Critically Endangered (CR) under the IUCN Red List criteria, with only five individuals observed across multiple surveys. The primary threats to its survival stem from habitat degradation due to increasing hiking activities in the region.

This discovery adds to Terengganu’s reputation as a hotspot for Thismia diversity, being home to 13 species of the genus, including six endemics. 

Siti-Munirah Mat Yunoh, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, and Mohamad Alias Shakri, Terengganu Forestry Department completed the research with funding from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability under the 12th Malaysian Plan and support from the Nagao Research Grant.

Original source

Siti-Munirah MY, Mohamad Alias S (2025) Thismia aliasii (Thismiaceae), a new species from Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia. PhytoKeys 254: 175-188. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.254.136085

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Guest blog post: Global change, individual behaviour, and trout population persistence

New experiments reinforce that behavioural plasticity can be key for coping with environmental changes

Guest blog post by Daniel Ayllón and Steve Railsback

Early in the morning, Daniel Ayllón and his research mates at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid drive towards the mountains near Madrid. They’re out to survey streams where the endangered Southern Iberian spined-loach and Northern Iberian spined-loach used to coexist. We say “used to,” because once again they fail to find the Northern Iberian spined-loach, probably locally extinct. Such extinctions are not unusual, as freshwater fishes are one of the most threatened groups of animals in the world. There are still many brown trout there, though; the water is still cold enough for them.

Salmonids (trout, salmon and char) are especially challenged by climate change because they need cold, oxygenated and clean water. Trout populations at low altitudes or low latitudes are thus particularly at risk; many in the Iberian Peninsula have been declining for decades as rivers warm and dry. Climate models project a bleak future: such Mediterranean populations will face hotter and drier streams, with more frequent and longer droughts and heat waves, and increasing competition from warm-water fish.

A photo of a brown trout swimming over a bed of smooth pebbles in clear water.
Brown trout (Salmo trutta). Photo by J. R. Pérez (AEMS-Ríos con Vida archive)

Despite these changes, local extinctions of trout are still rare, because salmonids are among the most adaptable and resilient of freshwater fishes. They are changing their physiology and phenology, growth and reproduction patterns, and life-history strategies to adjust to the new environmental conditions, via evolutionary, plastic and behavioural mechanisms. While evolutionary ecologists typically focus on genetic adaptation to forces such as climate change, behavioural plasticity could be even more important, because it is fast, reversible and often predictable.

In fact, thermoregulatory movements seem a ubiquitous behavioural mechanism in salmonids: individuals move up and down river networks to find less-stressful temperatures and better growth potential. Behavioural plasticity in circadian activity and habitat selection (deciding when and where to feed) also help trout resist short-term environmental changes. However, we don’t know how important changes in circadian activity─or behaviours in general─are to long-term population persistence in the face of climate change. So to shed light on this question, in a recent work published in Individual-based Ecology, we ran two virtual experiments using the inSTREAM individual-based model to represent a trout population in northern Spain.

A photo of a river flowing between rocky banks, surrounded by greenery and towering mountains under a clear sky.
The Roncal study site on the River Eska (northern Spain). Photo by Benigno Elvira

Steve Railsback and his colleagues at Cal Poly Humboldt University and the US Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station in Arcata, California, have been developing, testing, and applying inSTREAM for 25 years. The central idea of individual-based models (IBMs) and of individual-based ecology in general is that a biological system can be described through its individual agents, their environment, and the interactions among agents and between agents and environment. The agents of a system (for example, all fish in a population) are modelled as unique and autonomous individuals with their own properties.

The controlled experiment of Harvey and White to quantify how trout trade off feeding vs. predation risk. The experimenters trained wild trout to feed at this dispenser, and then moved it to increasingly risky habitat. The feeding rate needed to keep the trout from leaving increases with the risk it perceives. IBMs like inSTREAM use knowledge about individual behaviour from experiments like this to predict complex population responses. Video by Jason L. White.

Agents also have behaviours: they make decisions, following simple rules or algorithms, independently of other individuals, and seek objectives such as surviving to reproduce in the future. These behaviours are adaptive: agents’ decisions depend on their state and the state of their environment. In this way, population-level results actually emerge from the behaviour of the individuals. In inSTREAM, model trout decide whether to feed vs. hide from predators at different times of day, assumed a trade-off between the need to feed and the predation risk it poses. Temperature has a strong effect on this trade-off because a fish’s metabolic rates, and thus the amount of food it needs, increase sharply with temperature.

A photo of three people wearing waders engaged in field research in a river.
Three members of the research team at the UCM conducting habitat surveys at the Roncal study site. In IBMs like inSTREAM, modelled populations and their environment are characterised by field data collected in surveys like this. Photo by Benigno Elvira.

What did we learn with our IBM? First, our simulations show what behavioural ecologists know from experiments: that during warm summers trout can meet their metabolic requirements only by feeding at multiple times of day and segregating temporally, so that fish of different size can feed at the same spot but at different times of day. Feeding during daytime is more profitable but riskier, while doing it at night is safer but less efficient, and feeding during twilight provides near-daytime growth and somewhat-reduced risk.

We then analysed how model trout change their circadian foraging behaviour under increasing climate change. As we expected, trout showed great behavioural plasticity: trout of all ages responded to warmer and drier conditions by increasing daytime feeding and overall foraging activity, although there were differences across age classes in the distribution of daily activity. Our second experiment used a great advantage of IBMs as a virtual laboratory: we can run experiments that are impossible in reality. We tested the importance of behavioural plasticity by simply turning the behaviour off. In our simulations, virtual populations of trout capable of flexible circadian feeding were more resistant to climate change─had higher biomass and a more balanced age structure─than were populations of trout that feed only during daytime.

These experiments reinforce that behavioural plasticity can be key for coping with environmental changes, so we shouldn’t minimise its relevance when predicting the persistence of salmonid populations in warming and drying rivers. This conclusion no doubt also applies to other taxa that have powerful adaptive behaviours.

This study epitomises individual-based ecology, the subject of Pensoft’s new journal: we use what we know from empirical research on individual physiology and behaviour, in an individual-based model, to study complex population responses of direct relevance to our changing world.

Research article:

Ayllón D, Railsback SF, Harvey BC, Nicola GG, Elvira B, Almodóvar A (2025) Behavioural plasticity in circadian foraging patterns increases resistance of brown trout populations to environmental change. Individual-based Ecology 1: e139560. https://doi.org/10.3897/ibe.1.e139560

Recently launched Individual-based Ecology journal publishes its first articles

IBE offers a transformative framework for addressing global challenges such as the loss of biodiversity and potential loss of ecosystem services.

Individual-based Ecology (IBE), a new open-access peer-reviewed journal by scholarly publisher and technology provider Pensoft, has now published its first articles, offering a fresh perspective on how the behaviour of individual organisms and ecological systems dynamics are linked.

The journal was launched in September 2024 with an official announcement made during the German Ecological Society’s 53rd annual conference (Freising, Germany).

To fill a known gap in knowledge, the journal focuses on individual-based perspectives in ecology, complementing other ecological disciplines. Current approaches cannot fully capture the mechanisms underlying ecological responses to change in drivers, the journal’s editors believe, as they rarely focus on the individual organisms who directly respond to change.

Four editors-in-chief lead IBE: Prof. Dr. Volker Grimm and Prof. Dr. Karin Frank of Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Prof. Dr. Mark E. Hauber of The City University /(CUNY) of New York, and Prof. Dr. Florian Jeltsch of the University of Potsdam. “This team represents an international and collaborative group who agree on the conceptual and empirical need for this new journal”- says Dr Mark E. Hauber, from the Graduate Center of CUNY, and a former guest professor in ecology at the University of Potsdam.

The journal is published under a diamond open-access model, which makes it free of charge for both readers and authors. It publishes a wide range of articles, including empirical, experimental, and modeling studies, as well as reviews, perspectives, and methodological papers.

By blending basic and applied research, IBE offers a transformative framework for addressing global challenges such as the loss of biodiversity and potential loss of ecosystem services.

“We propose a paradigm shift in ecological science, moving from simplifying frameworks that use species, population or community averages to an integrative approach that recognizes individual organisms as fundamental agents of ecological change,” advocates write in a forum paper just published in IBE’s first issue. 

Illustration showing mouse behavior variation, predation effects, and colonization success based on boldness and size in new habitats.
Examples of individual variation and its consequences: a individual variation describes the variation in traits, including behaviour, between or within individuals resulting from various processes such as microevolution and biotic filtering. It also explicitly includes variation induced by experience, health status or microbes and microbial communities associated with the host; b simplified example showing how successful colonisation or invasion depends on inter-individual variation in morphological or behavioural traits (González-Suárez et al. 2015; Dammhahn et al. 2020; Premier et al. 2020).

“By unravelling and predicting the dynamics of biodiversity in the Anthropocene through a comprehensive study of individual organisms, their variability and their interactions, individual-based global change ecology will provide a critical foundation for a better understanding if and how we can manage individual variation and behaviour for conservation and sustainability, taking into account individual-to-ecosystem pathways and feedbacks.” 

Illustration showing the impact of individual variation on biodiversity across genes, populations, communities, and ecosystems under global change.
Hierarchical organisation from genes to ecosystems. Individuals are the elementary particles of ecological systems, meaning that variation and interactions between individuals can scale up to emergent properties at the population, community and ecosystem levels. The different ecological levels are highly interconnected through both bottom-up and top-down processes. Elucidating these feedback loops through an individual-based lens is a prerequisite for understanding ecosystem resilience and response to global change.

“By taking into account the variation, behaviours, and interactions of individual organisms, individual-based ecology links the responses of organisms to the responses of ecosystems: if we understand enough about individuals, we can predict complex system dynamics, even under novel conditions,” the editors and colleagues write in a “manifesto” for individual-based ecology that they published in the new journal. “We intend the journal to show how the individual-based perspective, in empirical, theoretical, and computational studies, benefits all branches of ecology.”

IBE’s first published research articles provide excellent examples of the individual-based perspective of the journal. Church et al. explore, using an established model of brown trout, how the uptake of microplastics by fish with different personalities affects population size. Ayllón et al. use the same model to explore to what extent behavioural plasticity allows this species to cope with environmental change, in particular increasing temperatures. Railsback and Harvey argue that in many models the representation of mortality risk is too simple. They present a new method, “survival increase functions”, which is more realistic but still straightforward to calibrate. 

The journal is supported by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ, Germany) and the City University of New York (CUNY, USA).

The journal utilises Pensoft’s innovative ARPHA platform, which offers a seamless end-to-end publishing experience, encompassing all stages between manuscript submission and article publication, indexation, dissemination and permanent archiving. As a journal of Pensoft, IBE joins a number of open-access scholarly outlets in ecology  by the publisher.

***

You can keep up with updates from the journal on Bluesky, X and Facebook.

New smartphone workflows revolutionize the digitization of natural history collections

By digitizing these data, we can preserve valuable knowledge about our biodiversity, especially in times of climate change and biodiversity crises.

A team from the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) has discovered groundbreaking ways for rapidly digitizing collection data. Data of insect specimen labels can now be easily read with just a smartphone – and all wirelessly and using only free, already available apps!

Why is this important?

Around 1.1 billion objects in the largest natural history museums worldwide remain undigitized and manual extraction of specimen label information for taxonomic revisions, another source for biodiversity data mobilization, is very time consuming. By digitizing these data, we can preserve valuable knowledge about our biodiversity, especially in times of climate change and human biodiversity crisis when many species are going extinct before they are even discovered.

This innovation will accelerate and advance global research and the preservation of our biological knowledge. And the best part? It’s not expensive and accessible to everyone – from professionals to amateur scientists!

Research article:

Ahrens D, Haas A, Pacheco TL, Grobe P (2025) Extracting specimen label data rapidly with a smartphone—a great help for simple digitization in taxonomy and collection management. ZooKeys 1233: 15-30. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1233.140726

A toxic pufferfish (that could bite off your fingers) has been found in Croatian waters

The silver-cheeked toadfish has spread aggressively in the Mediterranean since entering through the Suez Canal.

On May 13, 2024 researchers discovered a highly invasive silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus) in the Bay of Medulin, just off the coast of Croatia. The 52 cm, 1.3 kg male represents the northernmost record of the species in the Mediterranean, raising serious concerns about potential impacts on marine biodiversity, fisheries, and coastal tourism. 

Pufferfish specimen on a metal plate.

Specimen of Lagocephalus sceleratus (♂) from Medulin Bay, Croatia.

Originating from the Indo-Pacific, Lagocephalus sceleratus is a ‘Lessepsian migrant’ (meaning it migrated through the artificially created Suez Canal) and has spread aggressively through the Mediterranean since its first sighting in 2003. This latest discovery is the fourth confirmed record of the species in the Adriatic and the first from its northernmost waters.  

Map of Medulin Bay, Croatia.
The area in the northern Adriatic Sea where Lagocephalus sceleratus was caught, Medulin Bay, southern Istria, Croatia. 

Recent evidence from the southern and eastern Mediterranean shows that bites from the powerful beak-like jaws of the species can result in severe injuries such as partial amputations of fingers. Its flesh and organs also contain a potent neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin, which can be lethal  if consumed.  

In Mediterranean coastal regions, Lagocephalus sceleratus has become an increasingly significant portion of small-scale fishing catches, often causing damage to fishing gear with its bite. Stomach analysis of the captured individual revealed a diet consisting of bivalves, gastropods, and sea urchins, suggesting potential disruptions to the Adriatic’s ecological balance. 

Map showing the Adriatic Sea with five circles marking sightings of the species since 2012.
Adriatic records of Lagocephalus sceleratus.

“The presence of Lagocephalus sceleratus in the northern Adriatic is a clear warning sign of the species’ expanding range and potential ecological and economic consequences. Proactive monitoring and management strategies are important to mitigating its impact on local marine biodiversity, fisheries, and public safety.”

Dr Neven Iveša, co-author of the study. 

Experts recommend increased monitoring, regulatory measures, and public awareness campaigns to address threats posed by the species. Targeted removal efforts, public education on handling and reporting sightings, and further research can also play a part in mitigating threats.

Researchers from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Juraj Dobrila University of Pula and the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split published the discovery in the open-access journal Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria.

Original source

Iveša N, Buršić M, Dulčić J (2025) Northernmost Mediterranean record of the silver-cheeked toadfish, Lagocephalus sceleratus (Actinopterygii, Tetraodontiformes, Tetraodontidae). Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 55: 77-81. https://doi.org/10.3897/aiep.55.146945

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New torrent frog species named after Alexandra Elbakyan, creator of Sci-Hub

A team of researchers has announced the discovery of three new species of torrent frogs belonging to the genus Hyloscirtus.

A team of researchers from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, in collaboration with the Natural History Museum of London, has announced the discovery of three new species of torrent frogs belonging to the genus Hyloscirtus. The study, recently published in the journal ZooKeys, combines genetic, genomic, morphological, and bioacoustic analyses, revealing hidden diversity in one of the planet’s richest ecosystems.

A phylogenetic tree illustrating the relationships among Hyloxtricits species, with images of various frog species on the right side.
Maximum likelihood phylogram of Hyloscirtus for DNA sequences of mitochondrial (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, ND1 and adjacent tRNAs) and nuclear genes (RAG1 and c-myc). Bayesian posterior probabilities (pp × 100) are shown above branches and bootstrap values below. Asterisks represent values of 100%. Missing values indicate posterior probabilities and bootstrap < 50. Amazonian species of the H. bogotensis group are shown with colored boxes. Outgroup species are not shown and include two species of Boana and two of Dendropsophus. Voucher museum numbers are shown before the species name. For Ecuadorian populations, the province is provided after the species name. Abbreviations for other countries at the end of terminals: BOL (Bolivia), COL (Colombia), PAN (Panamá), PER (Perú), and VEN (Venezuela). UCS: unconfirmed candidate species.

Frogs in the mist

The research focuses on frog populations inhabiting the Amazonian cloud forests, a region known for its high biodiversity and conservation challenges. By combining DNA sequencing (both genomic and mitochondrial), detailed morphological studies, and the analysis of mating calls, the authors have identified three new species:

  • Hyloscirtus maycu
  • Hyloscirtus elbakyanae
  • Hyloscirtus dispersus
  • Close-up photo of a green frog perched on a leaf against a dark background, featuring distinctive patterned eyes.
  • A close-up photo of a frog with distinctive yellow feet and large, textured eyes, displayed against a white background.
  • A close-up photo of a green frog with large eyes and textured skin, against a white background.
  • A close-up photo of a  green frog, featuring large eyes and textured skin, against a white background.
  • A close-up photo of a  green frog with large eyes and vibrant feet, sitting against a white background.

A tribute to open knowledge

As a recognition of the value of free access to scientific information, one of the newly described species has been named after Alexandra Elbakyan, programmer and creator of Sci-Hub. This website provides free access to scientific articles, allowing researchers worldwide to consult studies that would otherwise be locked behind expensive subscriptions—especially in low- and middle-income countries. Sci-Hub has been instrumental in democratizing scientific knowledge on a global scale.

A collage of various frogs of the species Hyloscirtus elbakyanae displaying different colors, postures, and body types against a white background.
Variation in life of Hyloscirtus elbakyanae.

Importance of the study

“This discovery not only expands our understanding of cloud forest biodiversity but also highlights the urgent need to conserve these ecosystems in the face of growing environmental threats,” said Andrea Varela, lead researcher of the study.

Geographic distribution of Amazonian species of the Hyloscirtus bogotensis group. Stars represent the type locality of H. albopunctulatus, H. phyllognathus and H. torrenticola.

The paper also examines the impact of the Andes on the diversification of this group. Colonization events across the Andes have been very rare; in the studied group, only two such events were recorded, over 14 million years ago, both from the Amazon towards the Pacific basin. These findings underscore the crucial role of the Andean barrier in the evolution and distribution of these species, offering a unique perspective on the complex biogeographic history of the Andes—one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth.

Research article:

Varela-Jaramillo A, Streicher JW, Venegas PJ, Ron SR (2025) Three new species of torrent treefrogs (Anura, Hylidae) of the Hyloscirtus bogotensis group from the eastern Andean slopes and the biogeographic history of the genus. ZooKeys 1231: 233-292. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1231.124926

Plants of the Carribbean: Pensoft at the XIII Latin American Congress of Botany in Havana

Researchers gathered in Cuba to share the latest advancements in plant science.

From the 10th to 14th March, 2025, Havana, Cuba, hosted the XIII Latin American Congress of Botany, a fantastic event that brought together botanists and mycologists from far and wide to share knowledge and celebrate the rich botanical heritage of Latin America. 

Organised by the Latin American Botanical Association and Planta! – Plantlife Conservation Society, the event welcomed around 300 attendees and provided fertile ground for experts to engage in meaningful discussions and forge new partnerships. 

Pensoft's stand at the XIII Latin American Congress of Botany in Havana, with many visitors.
Pensoft’s stand welcomed hundreds of visitors.

Pensoft was proud to participate in the congress, showcasing its commitment to advancing plant research and establishing relationships with the global academic community. As always, the Pensoft team was thrilled to meet up with familiar authors, editors, and reviewers, as well as hundreds of new faces.

Pensoft’s stand was hub of activity, featuring information on its numerous journals in botany and mycology. These included PhytoKeys, MycoKeys, IMA Fungus, Plant Ecology and Evolution, Italian Botanist, Biodiversity Data Journal, Neotropical Biology and Conservation, and Check List. At the stand, attendees were welcomed to explore the journals, discuss publishing opportunities, learn about Pensoft’s cutting-edge publishing and technology solutions, take some stickers, and even enter a raffle!

The stand was adorned with many promotional materials featuring artwork by Denitsa Peneva, which proved to be a major draw for the attendees. 

On Friday, March 14, 2025, Pensoft’s CEO and Founder, Prof Dr Lyubomir Penev, delivered a compelling talk titled “Advancing Plant Taxonomy and Conservation through Scholarly Communication.” This presentation delved into the workflows and tools designed to streamline data publishing and enhance scholarly communication throughout the academic portfolio of the open-access publisher. Key aspects covered included semantic enrichment, data publishing, automated data import/export and science communication, all of which are crucial for advancing biodiversity research and conservation efforts.

The event marked another milestone in Pensoft’s ongoing efforts to bridge the gap between research and publication, ensuring that botanical knowledge reaches a wider audience and contributes to the conservation of plant diversity worldwide. As the botanical community looks forward to future gatherings, Pensoft remains ready to support and enhance the dissemination of botanical science globally.

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Moth collected by Alfred Russel Wallace is key to describing 11 new species

“We have not only revived Francis Walker’s species Topiris candidella, from 1863, but also expanded our understanding of an entire group of small white moths.”

  • A moth neglected by experts for a century is found to have been collected by Alfred Russel Wallace 169 years ago
  • Cutting-edge techniques allowed scientists to show the moth as belonging to a genus comprising 14 species, 11 of which are new to science
  • One of the new species has been named after Greta Thunberg
A black-and-white studio photograph of a man with a long beard sitting in a chair, dressed in formal attire, against a simple backdrop.
Alfred Russel Wallace

Scientists at the Natural History Museum (NHM), London, have discovered that a long-overlooked moth specimen in the Museum’s collection was in fact collected by explorer and naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, in 1855. This was at the same time as he was formulating his own revolutionary ideas on the origins of species which he would go on to share with Charles Darwin.

The small white moth, Topiris candidella, was described in 1863 by Francis Walker but was dismissed in 1927 by leading entomologist Edward Meyrick as “better neglected” having suffered substantial damage due to historic storing practices. The moth has remained overlooked for nearly a century, until now.

A photograph of a white moth displayed on a pin against a light background.
Topiris candidella, the modern specimen used for the reference. Photo credit: © Mark Sterling/Trustees of NHMUK

Using a cutting-edge DNA sequencing method, NHM scientists extracted genetic material from a single fragment of one of the specimen’s remaining legs and connected it to a group of moths found throughout South East Asia.

The scientists were able to prove that rather than being a single neglected species, Topiris is in fact a genus of 14 species, including 11 species which are new to science and described today in the paper published in ZooKeys.

One of these species is named Topiris thunbergella, in honour of Greta Thunberg and her work in raising awareness of the environmental pressures on the native forests of South East Asia.

Dr David Lees, Senior Curator for Microlepidoptera at the Natural History Museum, adds, “This discovery highlights the incredible potential of modern DNA analysis to reveal the evolutionary history of species, even from fragmented and long-forgotten specimens.

“By applying this innovative sequencing technique, we have not only revived Francis Walker’s species Topiris candidella, from 1863, but also expanded our understanding of an entire group of small white moths.”

During their research, David and fellow moth expert, Mark Sterling, found that a hidden label under the pin of the broken moth bore the handwritten letters “SAR”, a clue that this moth had been collected by Alfred Russel Wallace as part of over a thousand moths he collected at Rajah Brooke’s Forest retreat.

  • Close-up photo of a white moth displaying detailed wing textures and prominent antennae against a gray background.
  • A photograph of a moth with textured wings and light brown speckles, displayed against a gray background.
  • Close-up photo of a pale yellow moth with fringed wings, displayed against a gray background, perched on a white support.
  • Close-up photo of a pale, fluffy moth with wide wings and slender antennae, displayed upright against a gray background.

This was in December 1855, just months before he published his ‘Sarawak Law’ paper, which eventually led to a joint reading (at Darwin’s request) of their theories of evolution through natural selection.

Beyond the scientific breakthrough, the study has wider conservation implications. Of the 24 species reviewed in their paper, only three have been recorded since 2000, highlighting the urgent need for biodiversity monitoring in this region.

Mark Sterling added, “The 80 million specimens currently held in the Natural History Museum’s collections continue to be a critical resource for understanding biodiversity and assessing the effects of environmental change.”

Research article:

Sterling MJ, Price BW, Lees DC (2025) A revision of the hitherto neglected genus Topiris Walker, 1863 (Lepidoptera, Xyloryctidae) with taxonomic notes on the genus Athrypsiastis Meyrick, 1910. ZooKeys 1229: 297-368. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1229.119155

This press release was originally published by the National History Museum, London. It is republished here with permission.

Tussling tapirs: unexpected aggression in a shy species

Rafael Reyna-Hurtado describes his latest research capturing extreme fighting and vocalisation in tapirs (Tapirus bairdii) in Mexico.

Guest blog post by Rafael Reyna-Hurtado.

In a recent issue of Neotropical Biology and Conservation we published an article titled “Extreme fighting and vocalisation in Tapirus bairdii, observations from aguadas of Calakmul, social arenas for the species.” 

In our paper, we describe how a species known to be gentle and shy can initiate serious fights with conspecifics and how agile and aggressive these gentle giants of the Neotropical forests are capable of being.

Baird’s tapir (Tapirus bairdii) adults fighting in an aguada of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Southern Mexico.

We conducted our research in the amazing site of Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, a protected area in Campeche State in Southern Mexico in the heart of the Maya Forest, a forest shared by Mexico, Guatemala and Belize.

In this forest, jaguars, tapirs and herds of white-lipped peccaries roam the forest floor while spider and howler monkeys make their way across the forest canopy, all surrounded by Mayan temples hidden in the trees.

Man holding aloft an antenna on a mountain beside a large forest.
Rafael Reyna-Hurtado.

My research over the last 20 years has been based in ungulates (mammals with hooves).  I became passionate about tapirs after I met them for the first time in the tropical forest of Campeche. As a kid who grew up in central Mexico, I never imagined that a creature of that size and weight was still alive and moving silently in the tropical forest of my country.

The gentle and shy behaviour of tapirs has been confirmed by my main research technique: camera traps. For 10 years we have recorded many tapirs visiting ponds at night, walking and sniffing in silence, at a slow pace, and usually in the late hours of the night (before midnight), or the early hours of the day (after 4:00 am). 

Baird’s tapir (Tapirus bairdii) female whistling under searching behaviour in an aguada of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Southern Mexico.

Our camera traps always showed tapirs walking silently, slowly and stopping many times to listen and smell for danger. So imagine my surprise when, in the dry season of 2024, one camera showed us 97 videos of tapirs involved in serious fighting, running, chasing, biting each other and whistling for almost two weeks. It changed our perception of tapirs’ behaviour. Yes, they can be gentle, shy animals, but when challenged they can transform into extreme fighters!

Our research also shows that some specific places, like the water ponds of Calakmul, locally named “aguadas”, are not only sources of water for wildlife during the dry season, but also serve as so-called “social arenas”, sites where animals socialise with conspecifics and acquire information on predators. The role of “aguadas” as social arenas for tapirs make these sites a priority for conservation. 

Knowing the secret behaviour of a shy, rare and endangered animal is a privilege that amazes me anytime I am in the forest, or when I check our camera traps. It is a feeling of being witness to behaviours and ecological relationships that have not changed for thousands of years. 

The information is also very valuable for conservation purposes. Places like Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, where animal and plant communities are still in their original composition, are very rare. We must preserve such places as they show us the interesting relationships between animals and plants that have existed for thousands of years and that are key to the survival of these species. We must learn and work together to keep these sites untouched and allow tapirs to be shy and calm, or, from time to time, become serious extreme fighters!

Original source

Reyna-Hurtado R, Huerta-Rodríguez JO, Rojas-Flores E (2025) Extreme fighting and vocalisations in Tapirus bairdii: observations from aguadas of Calakmul, social arenas for the species. Neotropical Biology and Conservation 20(1): 67-78. https://doi.org/10.3897/neotropical.20.e143760

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