New Weevil Discovered in Subtropical Forest in China

Posted on July 5, 2016

Scientists have discovered a new genus and species of weevil in China. It was found in a subtropical forest near Dujiangyan City, Sichuan, China. The weevil likes to eat the seeds found in the pods of a shrubby legume.

Scientists from the Institute of Zoology, China, Xiangyang Lv, Zhishu Xiao, Zhiliang Wang, Runzhi Zhang, and Miguel A. Alonso-Zarazaga, also affiliated with the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Spain, identified the new species. It has been named Evemphyron sinense.

The weevil belongs to the weevil group Deporaini but it is not a leaf-roller like the vast majority of Deporaini species. It was placed in the group based on a few characteristic traits of its body and genitalia.

A research paper on the new weevil can be found here in the journal, ZooKeys.


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