By translating global food trade flows into biodiversity loss transfers, the dataset maps how, and through which trade links, ecological impacts shift across borders.
Global food trade is essential for food security but its ecological consequences often remain unseen. A new data paper published in One Ecosystem introduces a global long-term dataset, quantifying biodiversity loss embodied in the international trade of staple food crops. As such, this dataset offers a novel perspective on how food trade redistributes environmental pressures worldwide.
Developed by Dr Zhuofan Huang, Dr Zhenglei He and Zelin Xing of the Guangdong University of Technology in Guangzhou, China, the dataset spans 1995–2022 and focuses on four major staple crops: wheat, soybean, rice and maize. By integrating bilateral trade data from UN Comtrade with agricultural production statistics from FAOSTAT and biodiversity loss intensity factors expressed as the Potential Disappeared Fraction (PDF), the dataset translates food trade flows into quantifiable biodiversity loss transfers between countries.
The resulting global network includes 157 countries and up to 91,414 trade relationships, capturing the dynamic evolution of biodiversity loss embedded in staple food trade over nearly three decades. Unlike previous studies that examine agricultural biodiversity impacts at national or sectoral levels, this dataset explicitly maps how biodiversity loss is transferred across borders through international trade.
Global biodiversity loss embodied in staple food trade (1995–2022)
Initial analyses reveal a strong upward trend in biodiversity loss embodied in global staple food trade. Among the four crops, soybean trade shows the most rapid increase, with biodiversity loss rising more than sixfold from 1995 to 2022, and surpassing wheat as the dominant contributor in recent years. The findings also highlight the central role of major agricultural producers and traders (including the United States, Brazil, China, Australia and Argentina) in shaping global biodiversity loss patterns.
Major trade pathways transferring biodiversity loss in global staple food trade between 1995-2022 (Huang et al., 2026)
The authors have openly released this dataset, therefore providing a valuable resource for interdisciplinary research and policy analysis. The data can support assessments of environmental responsibility in food supply chains, help identify high-risk trade pathways, and inform the development of more sustainable and equitable global food trade policies – these factors will in turn contribute to biodiversity conservation and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 15 (Life on Land).
Original source:
Huang Z, He Z, Xing Z (2026) Dataset of Biodiversity Loss in Global Staple Food Trade, 1995-2022. One Ecosystem 11: e159884. https://doi.org/10.3897/oneeco.11.e159884
With 55% of its native habitat gone, the Cerrado is in crisis. Preserving this biodiversity hotspot demands immediate reform and the protection of Indigenous rights.
“In addition to surviving some of the poorest soils in intertropical Brazil, the vegetation of the Cerrado has achieved the ecological feat of withstanding wildfires, rising from its own ashes like a kind of phoenix among Brazil’s ecosystems. It cannot, however, withstand the violent technological artifices invented by so-called civilized men.”
Aziz Ab’Saber, 2003 (translated)
Often overshadowed by the Amazon, the Cerrado is the second-largest Ecodomain in South America. Despite covering 24% of the territory and sustaining major watersheds, it has historically been sidelined in global conservation dialogues.
Our detailed review recently published in Nature Conservation warns that this biodiversity hotspot is currently facing a massive, multi-faceted ecological crisis. Despite its significance, the region has seen more than 55% of its native vegetation converted, an area exceeding 1 million km², with the vast majority of this destruction occurring within the last five decades.
Land use and land cover (LULC) in the Cerrado Ecodomain in 1985 and 2023, revealing significant changes in the spatial structure of the territory. An intensification of human activities can be observed, with emphasis on agricultural expansion, which resulted in the significant replacement of native vegetation by alternative uses. This process represents an accelerated landscape transformation over the last four decades. These maps were made using the Cerrado shapefile developed by Cássio Cardoso Pereira, with LULC data available from MapBiomas (2024).
While recent data suggests a slight reduction in annual deforestation rates, the accumulated loss continues to climb, making the Cerrado the Ecodomain in Brazil with the greatest loss of native vegetation.
Annual clearing in the Cerrado (2001–2025) according to PRODES (INPE 2025). Bars represent the total area cleared each year (km²), with colors ranging from dark orange (highest values) to light orange (lowest values), indicating relative variation in intensity. Arrows indicate the percentage change compared to the previous year: increases (↑, red), decreases (↓, green), and stability (→, black, 0.0%). These data do not detect degradation, only complete removal of natural vegetation. Annual data refer to the so-called “reference year”, which runs from August of one year to July of the following year, based on satellite images with a resolution of 10 to 30 meters. The icons used in this figure are from Wikimedia licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Figure design: Cássio Cardoso Pereira.
This expansion is driven by a combination of agricultural and urban growth, mining, and land speculation, creating a landscape that is increasingly fragmented and ecologically compromised.
Inverted forest and hidden carbon
One of the things that make Cerrado truly unique is its “inverted forest“. Unlike tropical rainforests that store their biomass in high canopies, the Cerrado has achieved an ecological feat of survival by storing approximately 90% of its carbon belowground through massive, deep root systems. This underground network makes the Ecodomain a critical carbon sink and a primary regulator of water.
Schematic representation of the distribution of carbon stocks in the Cerrado, characterized as an “inverted forest” due to the predominance of biomass and carbon belowground. Estimates were obtained from Terra et al. (2023). Figure design: Walisson Kenedy-Siqueira.
However, misguided restoration efforts that focus solely on planting exotic trees in naturally open areas can further exacerbate this issue, highlighting the need for restoration strategies that prioritize ecological functionality and native seed banks over simple afforestation.
Ecosystem diversity and conservation challenges
However, it is not just the vast tropical savanna in Cerrado that makes up this inverted forest, but the complex and interdependent mosaic of grasslands, savannas, and forests, each with distinct structures, ecological processes, and vulnerabilities. Treating it as homogeneous invisibilizes both grassland and forest formations, complicating effective conservation policies.
For example, natural grasslands, especially in the montane Campos Rupestres, occupy limited areas, harbor high endemism, and face strong pressures from mining, biological invasions, and increased fire. Whilst savannas, although dominant in the area, have been widely converted into monocultures, exotic pastures, and forestry, compromising ecological integrity.
Main anthropogenic threats to the Cerrado resulting from land-use changes, ranked by impact on each ecosystem type (I–III: grassland, savanna, and forest). The ecosystems illustrated are according to Ribeiro and Walter (2008). For more details on each ecosystem. Figure design: Walisson Kenedy-Siqueira.
Even though some species are adapted to natural fire, many ecosystems, such as forests, the marshland formationsVeredas, and the montane Campos Rupestres, are highly vulnerable. Exotic species invasions and increased frequency and intensity of fires exacerbate ecological losses even without direct deforestation. We’ve found out that nearly all fires in the Cerrado are human-induced and occur outside natural regimes, causing cumulative degradation.
Threatened biodiversity and conservation gaps
Our research highlights a troubling pattern of ‘silent extinctions’ across the Cerrado. While this Ecodomain is home to thousands of unique plants and animals, we have identified a massive gap in how these species are monitored. Plants and invertebrates are the most threatened yet the least studied. This means species are vanishing before they can even be scientifically documented. Current policies are failing because they rely on incomplete data; we cannot protect what we have not yet cataloged. To prevent total collapse, we must expand our conservation criteria to protect not just individual species, but the complex ecological interactions that sustain the region’s water and soil.
Percentage distribution of threatened species among different biological groups in the Cerrado. The information was adapted from the IUCN Red List (2024), the Flora and Funga of Brazil portal (2024), the official national list of threatened species by MMA (2022), terrestrial vertebrate data from Vieira-Alencar et al. (2025), freshwater fish data from Lima and Ribeiro (2011), and invertebrate data from Embrapa (2023). Figure design: Walisson Kenedy-Siqueira.
Cerrado’s water crisis
The environmental crisis in the Cerrado is also a “silent water crisis” that threatens Brazil’s national security. The Ecodomain sustains the country’s main watersheds and major aquifers, yet this balance is being disrupted by irrigated agriculture, agrochemical contamination, and dam construction. Excessive surface and groundwater withdrawal is already leading to reduced river flows and the degradation of Veredas, which are essential for water regulation.
Paradoxically, the very sectors that drive this degradation, such as agribusiness and energy production, are the most dependent on these water resources, creating a cycle of increasing water insecurity. Protecting the Cerrado’s riparian zones and aquifers is no longer just an environmental concern but a prerequisite for the survival of the regional economy and climate resilience.
Disconnect between law and reality
The Cerrado is facing a dangerous disconnect between environmental law and ecological reality. Our research reveals that current protection is startlingly thin: while we cataloged 706 Conservation Units, they cover only 8% of the Ecodomain, with less than3% under strict protection.
To assist researchers and policymakers, we have compiled an unprecedented dataset of these units, including the often overlooked Private Natural Heritage Reserves (RPPNs) and crucial ecotones, available at: https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.61.168273.suppl1.
However, data alone isn’t enough. The Brazilian Forest Code, specifically the 20% Reserva Legal (RL) and the narrow 30-meter Áreas de Preservação Permanent (APPs) are ecologically insufficient. These leave vital formations like Veredas and Campos Rupestres as isolated, vulnerable fragments.
To prevent ecosystem collapse and secure Brazil’s water supply, we advocate for urgent reforms: increasing RL requirements to at least 35%, expanding protection zones to reflect biological reality, and enforcing strict traceability to decouple agricultural production from habitat loss.
Recognition and protection of Indigenous lands
Kayapó people from the state of Pará. Their lands are located in the Amazon, but include a Cerrado enclave, which is shown in the review. Photo credit to: Adriano Adriano Jerozolimski
Beyond legal designations, we emphasize that the future of the Cerrado depends on recognizing the rights of Indigenous peoples, whose traditional knowledge and sustainable land management have maintained the ecosystem’s balance for millennia.
For instance, recent laws such as the Marco Temporal and agribusiness proposals threaten to reduce their territories and accelerate biodiversity loss, making it urgent to protect and fully recognize these lands to conserve the Cerrado and its ecological resilience.
Mobilizing knowledge and adding value
Effective conservation requires recognizing the Cerrado as a biodiversity hotspot with dedicated legal instruments capable of protecting its full ecological heterogeneity.
Moving forward, the extractive logic of the past must be replaced with with regenerative systems, prioritizing conservation, restoration, and biodiversity-based economic alternatives, including agroforestry, payments for ecosystem services, fiscal incentives such as ICMS Ecológico. Ultimately, these measures will help promote conservation, social justice and sustainable certifications that recognize the Cerrado’s biodiversity as a core economic asset
Original publicaiton:
Pereira, C.C., Walisson Kenedy-Siqueira, Maia, L.R., da, V., Arantes-Garcia, L., Fernandes, S., França, G., Carvalho, G., Rodrigues, J., Salm, R. and Fearnside, P.M. (2026). The Cerrado crisis review: highlighting threats and providing future pathways to save Brazil’s biodiversity hotspot. Nature Conservation, 61, pp.29–70. doi: https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.61.168273
In the rugged hills of Shiren Gou, Urumqi, in China, a field research trip turned into a scientific discovery for middle school student Wang Yuheng. In June, 2022, while exploring, the student spotted an insect with an unusual metallic luster on its body.
After several days of comparisons, he made a bold claim: this was a new species that he had never seen before!
The discovery was published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, marking the first record of Cheiroplatys aiweiae in China, as well as the first documented distribution of Cheironitis moeris in the country.
Photo of Wang Yuheng. Credit to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps No. 2 Middle School WeChat Official Account
However, turning the discovery of the new species into a published paper wasn’t easy for Wang. He was faced with language barriers, struggled with report structure, and grappled with complex scientific terms. Undeterred, he consulted existing literature, double-checked data, and worked through multiple revisions until the manuscript was finally ready for publication.
By tradition, the discoverer of a new species has the right to name it. Endearingly, Wang chose the name Cheiroplatys aiweiae after his mother’s name, honoring her unwavering support throughout the research and publication process.
Original source:
Wang, Y., Montreuil, O. and Coppo, P. (2025). A new species of Cheironitis van Lansberge, 1875 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Onitini) and the first record of Cheironitis moeris (Pallas, 1787) from China. ZooKeys, 1265, pp.151–158. doi: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1265.174240
Australian botanists have newly identified Solanum nectarifolium, or the Tanami Bush Tomato, from historical specimens collected near the northern edge of the Tanami Desert.
Specialized Organs for Feeding Ants are First of Their Kind.
LEWISBURG, Pa. — A recent study led by Bucknell University Professor Chris Martine, biology, the David Burpee Professor in Plant Genetics & Research, has identified and described a new species of bush tomato with a special connection to ants — a taxonomic journey sparked by unusual specimens held in Australian herbarium collections.
The study, co-authored by a set of Australian botanists and Jason Cantley — the former Burpee Postdoctoral Fellow in Botany at Bucknell who is now Associate Professor of Biology at San Francisco State University — was published in the open-access journal PhytoKeys and underscores the critical role that natural history collections play in biodiversity science. The new species, Solanum nectarifolium, or the Tanami Bush Tomato, was named for the location of its original collection area — the northern edge of the Tanami Desert — and for the uniquely conspicuous nectar-producing organs on the undersides of its leaves.
Solanum nectarifolium, a newly-described species of Australian bush tomato. Photo credit: Kym Brennan.
Martine first had an inkling that something was unusual about the plants from that region of the Northern Territory while working on a project with another former Burpee Postdoc, Angela McDonnell, now an Assistant Professor at St. Cloud State University. The pair included DNA extracted from two herbarium specimens representing Solanum ossicruentum, a species known as the Blood Bone Tomato that the Martine Lab described in the same journal in 2016, in an ongoing analysis meant to build a new bush tomato evolutionary tree.
“We couldn’t understand why the two collections of the same species kept showing up in different parts of the tree,” says Martine. “I had collected one of them and was certain that it represented Solanum ossicruentum, so I reached out to the person who collected the other one, David Albrecht, and asked whether he thought the plants he saw in 1996 at a place called Jellabra Rockhole could be something else.”
Albrecht, Senior Botanist at the Northern Territory Herbarium at Alice Springs, suggested that the best way to know would be for botanists to revisit that remote region of the northwestern Tanami Desert and see for themselves. Martine, who had participated in seven collecting expeditions to northern Australia since 2004, wasn’t disappointed.
“I was kind of hoping he’d tell me that,” Martine says. “Because I was already planning some new fieldwork in the Northern Territory and this would give me a great season to visit an area I had never been to before. But to really be prepared for a trip like that, I first needed to understand what other botanists had recorded and collected there in the past – and there is only one surefire way to do that: check what is in the herbarium collections.”
So Martine started by using the Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH), a database of every plant specimen held in every herbarium in Australia. He searched for collections made of Solanum ossicruentum and a similar species called Solanum dioicum in the northern Tanami, finding 15 records for specimens gathered as far back as 1971.
Map showing distribution of Solanum nectarifolium sp. nov. and S. ossicruentum based on accessions held at the Northern Territory Herbarium, Palmerston (DNA), the Western Australian Herbarium (PERTH), and the National Herbarium of New South Wales (NSW). Credit: Martine et al., 2025
“It was a really interesting distribution of points on the map, too,” Martine says. “These were far south of the other records for Solanum ossicruentum, with hundreds of miles of ‘empty’ country between the two clusters. I couldn’t wait to get to Australia to see what those Tanami plants looked like.”
In May 2025 Martine headed to Australia to meet his team for the trip: Cantley and paper coauthors Kym Brennan, Aiden Webb, and Geoff Newton, all associated with the Northern Territory Herbarium at Palmerston. But, first, Martine made a stop in another plant collection in the southwestern city of Perth.
“The visit to the Western Australian Herbarium was my first chance to spend a bunch of time with some of the actual specimens that I had earmarked based on the data in AVH,” Martine explains. “And what I saw there legit blew my mind.”
Every specimen looked similar to Solanum ossicruentum, except for a few subtle characteristics – and one thing that Martine had never seen in more than two decades of Outback botanizing.
The veins on the leaf of Solanum nectarifolium, showing the extrafloral nectaries (EFNs). Phtoo credit: Kym Brennan.
“On the backs of the leaves, along the veins, were these visible round disks,” Martine notes. “They were each around a half-millimeter wide, really obvious, and the only bush tomato specimens that had them – we’re talking hundreds and hundreds of collections – were the ones from the northern Tanami.”
Martine thought they could be extrafloral nectaries (EFNs), non-flower organs on a plant that exude sweet liquid, typically as a means to attract ants that might protect the plants from herbivores. These were known to exist in a few Australian bush tomatoes, but those are tiny and have only been confirmed with microscopes. EFNs that could be seen without magnification would be something truly novel.
A few days later, Martine was in the herbarium at Palmerston and found the same pattern: more visible disks and only on plants from that same geographic area. Then he noticed that the most recent collection, from 2021, had been made by Kym Brennan – a renowned field biologist with an expertise in photography who was preparing for their trip in the next room.
“I ran in there and asked whether he remembered anything unusual about that collection – and before I could finish my explanation for why, he was already showing me an incredible photo of the leaves of that same plant. They were positively oozing with shiny, round droplets of nectar. And all from those disks on the veins.”
The oozing extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) on the underside of the Solanum nectarifolium leaf. Photo credit: Kym Brennan
Eight days and more than 1000 kilometers of driving later the team arrived near Brennan’s collection site 50 kilometers southwest of the community of Lajamanu, right along the edge of the unpaved Lajamanu Road.
“This was more-or-less the same place where others had collected it in the early 1970s, so we were cautiously optimistic that we’d not only find it there again, but that the plants would have the flowers and fruits on them that we needed to describe this as a new species,” explains Martine. “But it’s a harsh environment and the abundance of bush tomatoes is often dependent on fire occurrence. Sometimes you get to a place and there is nothing but old gray stems. Other times there are more happy plants than you can count. In this case, it was the latter situation!”
Habitat of Solanum nectarifolium at the type locality. Photo credit: Aiden Webb.
The team got to work taking notes, making measurements, and shooting photographs. And then Cantley called for Martine to come over to the plant he was examining. There were ants all over the leaf undersides, avidly moving from disk to disk and probing them for nectar. Hypothesis confirmed.
The collaborators decided on the scientific name “nectarifolium” – which translates to “nectar leaf,” for obvious reasons – and the English-language name Tanami Bush Tomato. Martine then contacted a few experts about the conspicuous nature of the EFNs and whether that has been seen anywhere else in the genus Solanum, a group of around 1200 species that includes the tomato, potato, and eggplant.
“As far as we know, this is the first Solanum species to be described as having extrafloral nectaries that you can see with your naked eye. That’s a pretty cool finding – and it all started with the examination of specimens that have been waiting in herbaria for as long as a half-century for someone to come along and take a closer look.”
Bucknell’s own Wayne E. Manning Herbarium, which holds approximately 25,000 plant specimens, now includes new samples of the Tanami Bush Tomato. But the official holotype remains at the Northern Territory Herbarium in Palmerston — almost 10,000 miles away from Bucknell’s campus.
Habit and morphology of Solanum nectarifolium. Photo credit: Kym Brennan and Chris Martine.
“The Manning Herbarium may be small, but every specimen is a snapshot of biodiversity,” Martine says. “These collections allow us to study where species occur, how they’ve changed over time, and — in cases like this — even help discover new ones.”
The publication of the new species comes amid broader concern over the fate of natural history collections, such as Duke University’s recently announced closure of its herbarium housing more than 800,000 specimens. Martine and his colleagues agree that such closures could hinder future discoveries and conservation efforts.
Martine, a leading expert on Australian bush tomatoes, was recently elected president-elect of the Botanical Society of America. He will begin his term as president following the organization’s annual meeting in August 2026.
“It still doesn’t feel real and probably won’t until I start my term just after Botany 2026,” Martine says. “But I promise to do my best because plants are awesome and so are botanists.”
Original study:
Martine, C.T., Brennan, K., Cantley, J.T., Webb, A.T. and Newton, G. (2025). A new dioecious bush tomato, Solanum nectarifolium (Solanaceae), from the northern Tanami Desert, Northern Territory, Australia, with reassessment of S. ossicruentum and a change in the circumscription of S. dioicum. PhytoKeys, 268, pp.183–199. doi: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.268.169893
Recent study published in Frontiers of Biogeography shows how local microclimates can amplify and mitigate extreme temperatures associated with climate change
During my PhD, I spent three summers crawling through a beautiful calcareous grassland nature reserve in Bedfordshire, UK, looking for caterpillars amongst the grasses and wildflowers. Occasionally we would have extremely hot weather, and as I was crawling around in the chalky earth, I noticed how hot it was near the ground. I was carrying a thermocouple with me, and I noticed that from standing to crouching down to the ground, air temperature could increase by up to 10 or even 20°C.
This got me thinking – insects experience temperatures that are very different from what I was experiencing while walking around. A pleasantly warm day to me may feel very different to a small insect close to the ground. What is this micro-world like for insects?
Photo of Duke of Burgundy butterfly by Prof. Edgar C. Turner
I deployed a network of data loggers across the nature reserve to help me answer this question. I wanted to know what near ground temperatures were really like on hot days, cold days, and everything in between.
So, the loggers recorded microclimate temperatures for a year and half in total, and we managed to capture six heatwave events in that time. We were even lucky enough (or perhaps unlucky enough) to be recording when air temperatures broke 40°C in the UK for the very first time, the dreaded summer of 2022. This gave us a rare opportunity to see what the world might look like more regularly under climate change.
Now armed with real-world hourly temperature measurements at fine scales, we could glimpse the world that insects occupy. Temperatures were indeed hotter near the ground and rose steadily with increasing temperature these temperatures rose and rose with increasing air temperature. In fact, we found thousands of individual records of temperatures over 40°C, half of which occurred outside of heatwave events.
It turns out that insects are experiencing extreme temperatures more frequently than we previously anticipated, and not necessarily only during heatwaves.
One of the main goals of our project was to identify how we can maintain cool refugia within landscapes – microclimates that are cooler than ambient temperature (think of a cool, shady patch of grass under a tree on a hot sunny day).
Photo of Duke of Burgundy butterfly by Edgar C. Turner
I had hoped to be able to identify combinations of environmental characteristics, such as steep north-facing slopes with long grass, that were able to maintain refugia well below ambient temperature during heatwaves.
However, what we found was that during heatwaves, areas that we expected to stay cool would turn into heat traps. Surprisingly, what we thought would mitigate extreme temperatures would actually amplify them!
This was a trend across all types of habitats, with no part of the nature reserve consistently maintaining cool refugia during heatwaves. This is incredibly worrying! It means that escape from the heat during heatwaves for small and slow-moving animals will be extremely difficult.
Vulnerability to climate change may depend on where species live in the vertical plane. Species that can fly (such as the large skipper, top left) or live high up in tall vegetation (such as the red admiral caterpillar on stinging nettle, top right) may be buffered from extreme heat. However, species that live near the ground or in short vegetation (such as the glowworm, bottom left, or leaf beetle, bottom right) may be particularly exposed to amplified temperatures.
The nature reserve we were monitoring is a fragment of rare calcareous grassland nestled amongst agricultural land and urban areas. It has been actively managed to maintain high biodiversity, and this has been very successful. It contains many rare and interesting small animals, such as the Duke of Burgundy butterfly and glowworms. Certainly, it is a beautiful example of a biodiversity hotspot in the UK.
However, our results imply that exposed landscapes such as these grasslands are at particular risk under climate change, with little we can do to protect wildlife from extreme heat during heatwaves, especially for small ground-dwelling organisms.
Research paper:
Ashe-Jepson, E., Turner, E.C. and Bladon, A.J. (2025). Local microclimates can both amplify and mitigate extreme temperatures associated with climate change. Frontiers of Biogeography 18: https://doi.org/10.21425/fob.18.164843
Researchers in Malaysia have discovered a new endemic ‘fairy lantern’ species with fewer than 20 individuals known to exist in the wild.
Despite having only just being discovered, the ethereal plant is considered Critically Endangered according to the IUCN Red List due to its tiny population and threatened habitat.
Take a look at the incredible Thismia selangorensis below!
Thismia selangorensis. Credit: Gim Siew Tan.
Thismia selangorensis. Credit: Gim Siew Tan.
Thismia selangorensis. Credit: Gim Siew Tan.
Thismia selangorensis. Credit: Gim Siew Tan.
Described in the open-access journal PhytoKeys, the peach-to-pink Thismia selangorensis joins the expanding Thismia genus, which includes 120 known species of mycoheterotrophic plants. Unlike familiar phytosynthetic plants, mycoheterotrophic species lack chlorophyll and do not get their energy from the sun. Instead, they depend solely on a parasitic relationship with fungi in the soil for their nutrition.
Species from this genus are typically found in undisturbed forests rich in leaf litter, where moist and shaded soils allow them to remain hidden for much of their lives, making their discovery extremely difficult.
Thismia selangorensis was no exception. Standing at only around 10 cm tall, with coral‑like roots and a peach-to-pink flower that develops into a distinctive umbrella‑shaped “mitre” topped by three slender club‑shaped appendages, Thismia selangorensis had gone unnoticed despite decades of human activity in its habitat.
Among the earlier individuals found, one was located in a hole at the base of a tree, as if living in a cave. Later, a few more individuals were found in more open areas near tree buttresses along the riverbanks.
Thismiaselangorensis. A. Young flower that is not yet fully developed ; B. Mature flower living just beside the roots of a tree buttress; C. A clump of T.selangorensis at different stages in its natural habitat (FRI 79182); D. A clump of flowers showing a different stage of mitre. Credit: Gim Siew Tan (A–C) and Mohd Faizal (D).
“This discovery shows that significant scientific finds are not limited to remote jungles; they can also be made in ordinary environments where constant human activity leaves little room for expectation. Protecting Thismia selangorensis will require cooperation among researchers, the forest department, stakeholders, and the public, as its survival depends on how carefully we tread in its habitat.”
Siti-Munirah Mat Yunoh (FRIM), lead author of the research paper.
Naturalist Tan Gim Siew first spotted the elusive species in November 2023 during a routine photography visit to Taman Eko Rimba Sungai Chongkak, part of the Hulu Langat Forest Reserve and a long‑established picnic and camping destination near Kuala Lumpur. A tiny plant was growing among moist leaf litter near the buttress roots of a riverside tree. Follow-up surveys revealed that fewer than 20 individuals were present, with an estimated occupied habitat of only four km².
Video showing the public nature of Thismia selangorensis‘s habitat. Credit: Gim Siew Tan.
The authors highlight that, although part of the Sungai Chongkak forest remains relatively intact, plants growing close to riverside campsites and picnic areas could easily be destroyed unintentionally by trampling or flooding. They recommend careful management of visitor access around known sites, continued monitoring of the population and further botanical surveys to clarify whether the species occurs beyond its currently known locality.
“The most important effort now is to raise awareness about this species so the public realises that it exists – right here, in this small corner of the world, and nowhere else, at least for now. Understanding its presence is the first step towards ensuring that this extraordinary plant is not lost before many people even know it exists.”
Siti-Munirah Mat Yunoh (FRIM), lead author of the research paper.
Original source
Siti-Munirah MY, Gim Siew T, Mat-Tahir MF, Azhar A (2025) Thismia selangorensis (Thismiaceae): a new mitriform fairy lantern species from Selangor, Malaysia. PhytoKeys 267: 9-21. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.267.157968
Inspired by its seemingly doomed fate, the Colombian species was named after the protagonist of Gabriel García Márquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold.
When researchers discovered an unknown orchid species growing in the cloud forests and páramos of Colombia’s Western and Central Andes, they were struck by the iconic first line of Gabriel García Márquez’s 1981 novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold.
Lepanthesnasariana. A. Flower, frontal view; B. Leaf, showing its thick, succulent morphology; C. Habit of the plant, showing the growth form and habitat. Photographs by J.S. Moreno.
Found thriving in lush, humid habitats at altitudes between 2,800 and 3,600 metres, Lepanthes nasariana is currently assessed as “Least Concern” according to IUCN Red List criteria. But its discovery is shadowed by a grim future, and a team of Colombian botanists has issued an urgent wake-up call after projecting its likely extinction within decades due to climate change.
Drawing inspiration from the tragic fate of protagonist Santiago Nasar, the researchers have termed their finding the “Nasar Effect”: a phenomenon where new species are described even as their demise is foretold by the conditions that threaten them. In the novella, Nasar’s impending death is known to everyone but himself, reflecting the fate of this new species.
Gabriel García Márquez.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold cover.
Published in the open-access journal PhytoKeys, the researchers’ models show Lepanthes nasariana could lose up to 96% of its suitable habitat by 2090 under a worst-case climate scenario, shrinking the orchid’s presence to tiny refugia in just two Colombian national parks.
The projected impact of rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns would, under more severe climate projections, qualify it as “Critically Endangered” in less than a century. This trajectory is reflected in numerous high-Andean species, many still unknown to science, whose fates may soon be sealed by global warming.
Projected changes in the potential distribution of Lepanthes nasariana under future climate scenarios. A. scenario for 2070; B. scenario for 2070; C. scenario for 2090; D. scenario for 2090. Blue indicates stable habitat, red indicates habitat loss. Each map represents the ensemble average of multiple GCMs under intermediate (SSP2-4.5) and high (SSP5-8.5) greenhouse gas emission pathways.
“Like the fate of Santiago Nasar, Lepanthes nasariana lives under a prophecy it cannot hear. Its extinction foretold by the warming of the very clouds that cradle it. Yet, in naming it, we hope to break that spell, to remind the world that there is still time to change the ending,” said the research team behind the discovery.
Original source
Moreno JS, Herrera Cobo AT, Palacio RD, Hazzi NA (2025) Chronicle of a death foretold: Lepanthes nasariana (Orchidaceae, Pleurothallidinae), a newly described high-Andean orchid facing a worst-case climate change scenario. PhytoKeys 266: 219-240. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.266.161410
Researchers from Nantong University have announced the discovery of four new species belonging to the springtail genus Lepidosira in China, representing the first record of this genus in the country.
Led by researchers Xiaowei Qian, Meidong Jing, and Yitong Ma, the study involved extensive fieldwork in the Yintiaoling National Nature Reserve in Chongqing, a biodiversity hotspot in southwestern China.
Lepidosirawuxiensis sp. nov. A, B. Habitus (lateral view). Scale bars: 500 μm. Credit: Qian et al.
Through COI barcoding and meticulous examination of physical characteristics, the team identified and described four species new to science: Lepidosira apigmenta, L. similis, L. wuxiensis, and L. chongqingensis. These species expand scientific understanding of the diversity and evolution of springtails: tiny, soil-dwelling arthropods that play a critical role in ecosystem health and soil fertility.
In addition to introducing these new species, the study proposes taxonomic updates, including the transfer and renaming of two previously known Chinese species based on their true affinities to Lepidosira. The use of genetic barcoding was key to overcoming the limitations of identification methods based only on colouration, a common but unreliable trait in traditional Collembola taxonomy.
Lepidosirasimilis sp. nov. A, B. Habitus (lateral view). Scale bars: 500 μm. Credit: Qian et al.
The research team also provides an updated identification key for the scaled genera of the subfamily Entomobryinae, further facilitating future studies in the region.
This discovery highlights the richness of endemic species in China and the importance of continued exploration in under-studied habitats. The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Large Instruments Open Foundation of Nantong University.
Original source Qian X, Jing M, Ma Y (2025) First report of Lepidosira (Collembola, Entomobryidae) from China, with description of four new species under the aid of COI barcoding. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 72(2): 341-365. https://doi.org/10.3897/dez.72.153961
Earth’s vast oceanic biodiversity remains largely unexplored, with only a fraction of an estimated two million total living marine species formally named and described. A significant challenge is the protracted delay, often spanning decades, between the initial discovery of a new species and its official publication.
Ocean Species Discoveries was established to address this critical gap, offering a high-quality, data-rich publication platform specifically tailored for concise marine invertebrate species descriptions. This revolutionary approach can significantly accelerate the timeline for new species descriptions, a vital advantage given the escalating threat of human-driven biodiversity loss, which risks species becoming extinct before scientists even know they exist.
The second major collection in the Ocean Species Discoveries had over 20 researchers working together to describe 14 new marine invertebrate species and two new genera from all over the world, including worms, mollusks, and crustaceans. They published their research in a scientific paper in Biodiversity Data Journal, a year after the project’s pilot publication.
“Our shared vision is making taxonomy faster, more efficient, more accessible and more visible,” the team said in their paper.
The newly established Discovery Laboratory at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt proved critical help in describing most of the new species. The Laboratory offers access to integrative research methods such as light and electron microscopy, confocal imaging, molecular barcoding, and micro-CT scanning, making it easy for researchers to produce the high-quality data necessary for robust species descriptions.
The animals studied in this project come from ocean depths ranging from 1 to over 6,000 meters. The deepest-living animal the researchers explored is Veleropilina gretchenae, a new species of mollusk that was recovered from the Aleutian Trench at a depth of 6,465 meters. It is one of the first species in the class Monoplacophora to have a high-quality genome published directly from the holotype specimen.
Veleropilina gretchenae.
A landmark achievement in this collection is the anatomical description of the carnivorous bivalve Myonera aleutiana, which represents only the second bivalve species documented in detail using solely non-invasive micro-CT scanning. The process generated over 2,000 tomographic images, providing unprecedented clarity on the bivalve’s internal tissues and soft-body parts. This is the first study to offer detailed anatomy information on any Myonera species.
Myonera aleutiana.
Its description also marks a new depth record: it was found at depths of 5,170–5,280 meters, about 800 meters deeper than any other documented Myonera individual.
One of the newly described species honours Johanna Rebecca Senckenberg (1716–1743), a naturalist and benefactor who supported science and medicine, which contributed to the forming of the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research. The amphipod Apotectonia senckenbergae was discovered in a mussel bed at the Galápagos Rift hydrothermal vent fields at a depth of 2,602 meters.
Apotectonia senckenbergae.
Zeaione everta.
Some of the deep-sea inhabitants have curious appearances: the parasitic isopod Zeaione everta exhibits distinctive protuberances on the female’s back that resemble popped kernels of popcorn. The genus name, which derives from the corn genus Zea, reflects this resemblance. Found in the Australian intertidal zone, this species also represents a new genus.
The paper also sheds more light on known deep-sea species such as the tusk shell Laevidentalium wiesei, found at depths of more than 5,000 meters. The researchers found out it was carrying its own secret hitchhiker, a sea anemone attached to the shell’s anterior (concave) side. This is the first time an interaction of this kind is reported in the genus Laevidentalium.
Laevidentalium wiesei.
Research article:
(SOSA) SOSA, Andrade LF, Boyko CB, Brandt A, Buge B, Dávila Jiménez Y, Henseler M, Hernández Alcántara P, Jóźwiak P, Knauber H, Marcondes Machado F, Martínez-Muñoz CA, Momtazi F, Nakadera Y, Qiu J-W, Riehl T, Rouse GW, Sigwart JD, Sirenko B, Souza-Filho JF, Steger J, Stępień A, Tilic E, Trautwein B, Vončina K, Williams JD, Zhang J (2025) Ocean Species Discoveries 13–27 — Taxonomic contributions to the diversity of Polychaeta, Mollusca and Crustacea. Biodiversity Data Journal 13: e160349.https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e160349
Scientists from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, as part of an international research team, studied the land snail and slug fauna in northern Vietnam’s Cuc Phuong National Park. The now published findings document an enormous diversity of different gastropod species. Many of them are still undescribed. The collected material, along with the corresponding, digitally accessible data, forms an important basis for further research on the region’s biodiversity.
A view of Cuc Phuong National Park. Photo credit: MfN_B.Schurian.
There is still much to discover in Vietnam’s tropical forests. Cuc Phuong National Park is located in the north of the country, southwest of the capital Ha Noi. In 2019, an international research team, including scientists from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, conducted a biodiversity survey of various organism groups in the national park, which is characterised by densely forested limestone hills. The inventory, carried out as part of the German-Vietnamese research and training project VIETBIO, also included the study of the national park’s land snails and slugs. A detailed analysis of this gastropod survey has now been published in the Biodiversity Data Journal.
Researchers doing fieldwork at Cuc Phuong National Park. Photo credit: MfN_B.Schurian.
The publication shows that a total of 116 gastropod species from 23 families were recorded during the survey in the national park. These include millimetre-sized species to fist-sized ones, such with flat, round, or elongated shells, as well as slugs and semi-slugs. “Of the species found, we were unable to assign 47 to any known species; most of them are likely yet undescribed,” explains the study’s lead author, snail researcher Parm von Oheimb from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
In their publication, the authors of the study also summarise previous research on the national park’s land gastropods. On this basis, they could now determine the total number of species recorded from the park at 159. “Many of the snails inhabiting the protected area are only found in this part of northern Vietnam and nowhere else,” adds Katharina von Oheimb, also a snail researcher at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. “The comparison with other regions shows that Cuc Phuong National Park is one of the most species-rich tropical forests for terrestrial gastropods studied to date.”
Amphidromus roseolabiatus. Photo credit: Katharina C. M. von Oheimb
During the almost two weeks of field research, an extensive collection of empty shells and alcohol-preserved specimens has been built up, which allows for further scientific study in future. The collection has been divided and is stored at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources in Ha Noi. Furthermore, for the long-term preservation of tissue samples, for example for molecular genetic studies, corresponding material has been deposited in the tissue collection of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
An Atopos species. Photo credit: Katharina C. M. von Oheimb
Detailed collection data, for instance on preservation, identification, sampling locality, and habitat, have been made available in digital and machine-readable format with the publication and are intended to facilitate future research with the material. These also include photographs of live animals taken on location. Moreover, the publication contains numerous photos of the new collection material, including for the first time such created with the DORA station, which was developed in recent years to digitise the mollusc collection of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
The DORA station. Photo credit: Katharina C. M. von Oheimb
The data now published reveal different distribution patterns for the snails and slugs within the national park, which together contribute to the high total number of species. Parm von Oheimb explains: “Not all species are found at the same localities in the park. Some are only present in certain areas and do not co-occur with particular other species. And even species with overlapping distribution areas often inhabit different microhabitats, they are for example rock specialists or ground dwellers.”
Ganesella procera. Photo credit: Katharina C. M. von Oheimb
The snails were sometimes found in large numbers in the national park. The limestone provides the animals with the calcium they need to build their shells. However, by no means were all gastropod species common. From a significant number, only a few individuals could be found, and from about 15% of the species, only a single specimen each.
Dioryx messageri. Photo credit: Katharina C. M. von Oheimb
Since many snail and slug species in the national park are apparently rare or unevenly distributed, the researchers assume that part of the biodiversity has not been documented in surveys so far. Taking into account the results of a previous survey of the snail fauna as well as their own data, they were able to make a statistical estimate of the total number of gastropod species in the national park. According to this, at least about 184 species of land snails and slugs are expected in the park. This estimate exceeds the total number of currently known species considerably and underlines once again the region’s high biodiversity. Protected areas such as Cuc Phuong National Park are of great importance for its conservation.
Research article:
Oheimb, P.V. von; Sulikowska-Drozd, A.; Dinh, T.D.; Lentge-Maaß, N.; Do, T.V. & Oheimb, K.C.M. von (2025): Terrestrial Mollusca of Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam – Results from the 2019 VIETBIO inventory work. Biodiversity Data Journal, 13, e163277. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e163277
Press release originally published by Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. Republished with permission.
