The beetle, discovered in Mozambique by naturalist Will Watson, has been designated as Haliplus Watsoni.
On a trip to northern Mozambique, Will Watson from Docklow stumbled upon this water beetle.
After a year and a half of deliberation, experts from around the world reached a consensus that it was a new species and assigned it the name Haliplus Watsoni.
According to Will Watson, having a species named after its discoverer is quite unusual. “I only know of a couple of people who’ve found new species, and I don’t know anyone who’s had something named after them,” he remarked.
The water beetle was found in a floodplain pool located within the Manda Wilderness Community Game Reserve, part of the Great Rift Valley.
Remarkably tiny, the newly discovered beetle measures just 2.7 mm in length, roughly equivalent to the size of a full stop in a newspaper.
Will Watson experienced some difficulties during his expedition; he was bitten by a microscopic parasite and fell ill upon returning to Herefordshire. “Unfortunately, I picked up a parasite on the side of the lake. I noticed a little swelling on my foot that itched a bit, but I didn’t think much of it at the time. About three months later, I began showing other symptoms and was diagnosed. It was the first time they’d seen it in Leominster, for sure,” he explained.
Will stated that having the beetle bear his name made all the suffering and sickness worthwhile.
by David Livingstone