A new species of dung beetle, Cheiroplatys aiweiae, has been recently discovered in the rugged hills of Shiren Gou, Urumqi, China by a middle school student named Wang Yuheng. This exciting discovery was made during a field research trip in June 2022 when Wang noticed an insect with a unique metallic luster on its body.
After careful observation and comparison for several days, Wang confidently declared that this was a new species that had never been documented before. to confirm his claim, his school’s science teacher collaborated with Zhang xin, a PhD biologist from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Their thorough analysis confirmed that this was indeed a new species belonging to the genus Cheironitis.
The discovery of this new species was published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, making it the first record of Cheiroplatys aiweiae in China and the first documented distribution of Cheironitis moeris in the country.
Despite facing language barriers and struggling with complex scientific terms and report structure, Wang persevered in turning his discovery into a published paper. He consulted existing literature,double-checked data,and worked through multiple revisions until the manuscript was finally ready for publication.
As per tradition, the discoverer of a new species has the privilege of naming it.In a heartwarming gesture, wang chose to name this new species Cheiroplatys aiweiae after his mother, in recognition of her unwavering support throughout the research and publication process.
Original source:
Wang, Y., Montreuil, O. and Coppo,P. (). 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
Wow, what an amazing discovery!
Sarah: Incredible find by a student, shows the importance of fieldwork in learning.
Michael: Nature never ceases to amaze us with its diversity.