Australian scientists have just discovered a new species of bee with small horns similar to the devil's horns. This was reported by Curtin University's press service.
Experts clarified that the new insect was found during research on the wildflower Marianthus aquilonarius in Western Australia. They were named Megachile (Hackeriapis) lucifer.
As study author Keith Prendergast noted, the new bee species received its name because the females have unusual horned heads. The university explains that the word “Lucifer” in Latin means “bringer of light.”
“I was watching the Netflix series Lucifer while describing the new species. I was a huge fan of the main character and it was clear to me what the new bee species should be named,” Prendergast said.
According to him, the DNA barcoding showed that the male and female belonged to the same species and did not match other known bee species and specimens from museum collections. The scientist emphasized that they have become the first new representatives of this group of bees to be described in more than 20 years.
Prendergast also said that these insects may be threatened by habitat disturbance and other factors.
Previously, scientists discovered an unknown tyrannosaur Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, which lived 86 million years ago. The discovery was made in the 1970s in Mongolia's Gobi Desert and was initially classified as belonging to the carnivore Alectosaurus. In 2023, a graduate student at Canada's University of Calgary noticed the fossils during an expedition and began re-examining them.
