So, go and read about this new species and new (for the mainland Afrotropics) subfamily!
Lukemaan uudesta lajista ja afrotropiikille (p.l. Madagascar) uudesta alaheimosta!
Gå och läs om vår nya art (kanske två arter..) och hur lite underfamiljen setts i tropiken! 🧪
Lukemaan uudesta lajista ja afrotropiikille (p.l. Madagascar) uudesta alaheimosta!
Gå och läs om vår nya art (kanske två arter..) och hur lite underfamiljen setts i tropiken! 🧪
First record of the subfamily Eucerotinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) from the mainland Afrotropics, with a description of a new species
The ichneumonid subfamily Eucerotinae has been thought to be almost absent from the tropics, with the only known Afrotropical species found in Madagascar. We report the subfamily as present in the mai...
doi.org
October 27, 2026 at 9:49 AM
So, go and read about this new species and new (for the mainland Afrotropics) subfamily!
Lukemaan uudesta lajista ja afrotropiikille (p.l. Madagascar) uudesta alaheimosta!
Gå och läs om vår nya art (kanske två arter..) och hur lite underfamiljen setts i tropiken! 🧪
Lukemaan uudesta lajista ja afrotropiikille (p.l. Madagascar) uudesta alaheimosta!
Gå och läs om vår nya art (kanske två arter..) och hur lite underfamiljen setts i tropiken! 🧪
Now formally published @zookeys.pensoft.net! 🥳 Please welcome Euceros ibex sp. nov. from Uganda and Cameroon! 🐣
Euceros ibex, namngett av Österbottens Tidnings läsare, har nu formellt publicerats!
On taas uusi afrikkalainen laji meille syntynyt, nyt tuli Euceros ibex! 🧪
Euceros ibex, namngett av Österbottens Tidnings läsare, har nu formellt publicerats!
On taas uusi afrikkalainen laji meille syntynyt, nyt tuli Euceros ibex! 🧪
October 27, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Now formally published @zookeys.pensoft.net! 🥳 Please welcome Euceros ibex sp. nov. from Uganda and Cameroon! 🐣
Euceros ibex, namngett av Österbottens Tidnings läsare, har nu formellt publicerats!
On taas uusi afrikkalainen laji meille syntynyt, nyt tuli Euceros ibex! 🧪
Euceros ibex, namngett av Österbottens Tidnings läsare, har nu formellt publicerats!
On taas uusi afrikkalainen laji meille syntynyt, nyt tuli Euceros ibex! 🧪
🐝 New study on Brachycyrtus #wasps expands distribution records across the Neotropics & Afrotropics, describes 2 new species, reports previously unknown males for 2 others, and synonymises B. zani with B. xorix, plus updated ID keys for all known #species.
Full study: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
Full study: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
September 1, 2026 at 12:37 PM
🐝 New study on Brachycyrtus #wasps expands distribution records across the Neotropics & Afrotropics, describes 2 new species, reports previously unknown males for 2 others, and synonymises B. zani with B. xorix, plus updated ID keys for all known #species.
Full study: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
Full study: doi.org/10.3897/jhr....
Also kind of fun to be able to write something like this. Who us, go in for humble bragging about two continents and several decades collecting etc? 😎
September 1, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Also kind of fun to be able to write something like this. Who us, go in for humble bragging about two continents and several decades collecting etc? 😎
* "fairly uncommon genus" in an African wasp context: my ten (10!) females are going to make a noticeable difference to this revision of the entire Afrotropics.
August 27, 2026 at 9:01 AM
* "fairly uncommon genus" in an African wasp context: my ten (10!) females are going to make a noticeable difference to this revision of the entire Afrotropics.
Out of the Orient: Post-Tethyan transoceanic and trans-Arabian routes fostered the spread of Baorini skippers in the Afrotropics.
https://authorservices.wiley.com/api/pdf/fullArticle/16447955
(if this link does not work and you want a .pdf feel free to DM me)
https://authorservices.wiley.com/api/pdf/fullArticle/16447955
(if this link does not work and you want a .pdf feel free to DM me)
November 22, 2024 at 7:26 PM
Out of the Orient: Post-Tethyan transoceanic and trans-Arabian routes fostered the spread of Baorini skippers in the Afrotropics.
https://authorservices.wiley.com/api/pdf/fullArticle/16447955
(if this link does not work and you want a .pdf feel free to DM me)
https://authorservices.wiley.com/api/pdf/fullArticle/16447955
(if this link does not work and you want a .pdf feel free to DM me)
Just published in Systematic Entomology, Early View:
"Afrotropics on the wing: phylogenomics and historical biogeography of awl and policeman skippers"
[Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Coeliadinae]
by @EmmanuelTouss1 and...
"Afrotropics on the wing: phylogenomics and historical biogeography of awl and policeman skippers"
[Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Coeliadinae]
by @EmmanuelTouss1 and...
November 22, 2024 at 4:00 PM
Just published in Systematic Entomology, Early View:
"Afrotropics on the wing: phylogenomics and historical biogeography of awl and policeman skippers"
[Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Coeliadinae]
by @EmmanuelTouss1 and...
"Afrotropics on the wing: phylogenomics and historical biogeography of awl and policeman skippers"
[Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Coeliadinae]
by @EmmanuelTouss1 and...
Trophic Diversity in Aquatic Food Webs Along a Tropical Coastal River Continuum in West-Central Africa #stableisotopes onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Trophic Diversity in Aquatic Food Webs Along a Tropical Coastal River Continuum in West‐Central Africa
In the wet Afrotropics, information on trophic diversity and resource use in freshwaters is extremely limited.
Here we used stable isotope ratios (δ13C, δ15N) from food webs along the continuum o...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
May 1, 2026 at 6:17 AM
Trophic Diversity in Aquatic Food Webs Along a Tropical Coastal River Continuum in West-Central Africa #stableisotopes onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Trophic Diversity in Aquatic Food Webs Along a Tropical Coastal River Continuum in West-Central Africa #stableisotopes onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Trophic Diversity in Aquatic Food Webs Along a Tropical Coastal River Continuum in West‐Central Africa
In the wet Afrotropics, information on trophic diversity and resource use in freshwaters is extremely limited. Here we used stable isotope ratios (δ13C, δ15N) from food webs along the continuum o...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 6, 2026 at 11:40 AM
Trophic Diversity in Aquatic Food Webs Along a Tropical Coastal River Continuum in West-Central Africa #stableisotopes onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
ICYMI: New online! Transformative citizen science in the Afrotropics
Transformative citizen science in the Afrotropics
Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Published online: 15 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s44358-026-00176-8Transformative citizen science in the Afrotropics
dlvr.it
June 22, 2026 at 5:15 PM
ICYMI: New online! Transformative citizen science in the Afrotropics
New online! Transformative citizen science in the Afrotropics
Transformative citizen science in the Afrotropics
Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Published online: 15 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s44358-026-00176-8Transformative citizen science in the Afrotropics
dlvr.it
June 15, 2026 at 5:14 PM
New online! Transformative citizen science in the Afrotropics
As always, the data is available online:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
I suspect 99% of our (probably fiveish) readers won't be interested, but take a look if you want DNA barcodes of African eucerotine wasps!
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
I suspect 99% of our (probably fiveish) readers won't be interested, but take a look if you want DNA barcodes of African eucerotine wasps!
May 15, 2026 at 9:07 AM
As always, the data is available online:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
I suspect 99% of our (probably fiveish) readers won't be interested, but take a look if you want DNA barcodes of African eucerotine wasps!
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
I suspect 99% of our (probably fiveish) readers won't be interested, but take a look if you want DNA barcodes of African eucerotine wasps!
Ogranskade versionen kom nu online: platthornsteklar finns i (kontinentala) tropiska Afrika.
Preprint now online: there are Eucerotinae in mainland tropical Africa.
Ennakkoversio nyt netissä: laattasarviahmasia on trooppisessa mannerafrikassa.
doi.org/10.64898/202... 🧪
Preprint now online: there are Eucerotinae in mainland tropical Africa.
Ennakkoversio nyt netissä: laattasarviahmasia on trooppisessa mannerafrikassa.
doi.org/10.64898/202... 🧪
First record of the subfamily Eucerotinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) from the mainland Afrotropics, with a description of a new species
The ichneumonid subfamily Eucerotinae has been thought to be almost absent from the tropics, with the only known Afrotropical species found in Madagascar. We report the subfamily to be present in the mainland Afrotropics, and describe a new species, Euceros species 1 from Uganda and Cameroon (name not yet shown in preprint). The subfamily had likely not been observed in the mainland Afrotropics before due to low abundances and insufficient sampling. More Eucerotinae likely remain to be discovered in tropical Africa and Asia, although tropical America may genuinely have few eucerotine species. Much more extensive sampling will be needed before it is possible to make confident estimates of how eucerotine diversity is distributed globally. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Alfred Kordelin Foundation, https://ror.org/0107h6s84 Entomological Society of Finland Finnish Cultural Foundation, https://ror.org/027xav248 Oskar Öflund Foundation, https://ror.org/0446gjc92 Svensk-Österbottniska Samfundet Waldemar von Frenckells Stiftelse, https://ror.org/030yben02 Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas, https://ror.org/026d6ma13, 88887.806552/2023-0, 88881.126557/2025-01 Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas, https://ror.org/026d6ma13 Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG530224000
doi.org
May 15, 2026 at 6:54 AM
Ogranskade versionen kom nu online: platthornsteklar finns i (kontinentala) tropiska Afrika.
Preprint now online: there are Eucerotinae in mainland tropical Africa.
Ennakkoversio nyt netissä: laattasarviahmasia on trooppisessa mannerafrikassa.
doi.org/10.64898/202... 🧪
Preprint now online: there are Eucerotinae in mainland tropical Africa.
Ennakkoversio nyt netissä: laattasarviahmasia on trooppisessa mannerafrikassa.
doi.org/10.64898/202... 🧪
It's the first published observation of these wasps from Africa, except for the Mediterranean (technically Africa, hence Afrotropics) and Madagascar (hence mainland).
(I may be revealing our discovery to those in the know, but that's typical for the the "scientist" variant of the human species. 😎)
(I may be revealing our discovery to those in the know, but that's typical for the the "scientist" variant of the human species. 😎)
There have been MULTIPLE early leaks of scientific discoveries via DECORATED CAKE. Scientists are good at many things, but shutting up is definitely not one of them.
I tell people that if the government is covering up the existence of aliens, NASA is absolutely not involved, because astrobiologists can't keep a secret to save their lives
March 5, 2026 at 8:56 AM
It's the first published observation of these wasps from Africa, except for the Mediterranean (technically Africa, hence Afrotropics) and Madagascar (hence mainland).
(I may be revealing our discovery to those in the know, but that's typical for the the "scientist" variant of the human species. 😎)
(I may be revealing our discovery to those in the know, but that's typical for the the "scientist" variant of the human species. 😎)
Opinions on which sounds better in the title?
First observation ... from the Afrotropical mainland
or
First observation ... from the mainland Afrotropics
First observation ... from the Afrotropical mainland
or
First observation ... from the mainland Afrotropics
March 5, 2026 at 8:56 AM
Opinions on which sounds better in the title?
First observation ... from the Afrotropical mainland
or
First observation ... from the mainland Afrotropics
First observation ... from the Afrotropical mainland
or
First observation ... from the mainland Afrotropics
Another new species out! 🥳 Please welcome Sericopimpla kibalensis. 🧪
A genus earlier mainly known from tropical Asia and Australia, with just one African species. After our Ugandan collecting, there are now two.
In @zookeys.pensoft.net with @ilarisaaksjarvi.bsky.social, me, Emil, Kari, Simon.
A genus earlier mainly known from tropical Asia and Australia, with just one African species. After our Ugandan collecting, there are now two.
In @zookeys.pensoft.net with @ilarisaaksjarvi.bsky.social, me, Emil, Kari, Simon.
On the genus Sericopimpla Kriechbaumer, 1895 (Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae) in the Afrotropics, with the description of a new species
Sericopimpla Kriechbaumer, 1895 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae) is a moderately large Darwin wasp genus distributed mostly in the Paleotropics and Australasian region. Here, we describe a new ...
doi.org
February 10, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Another new species out! 🥳 Please welcome Sericopimpla kibalensis. 🧪
A genus earlier mainly known from tropical Asia and Australia, with just one African species. After our Ugandan collecting, there are now two.
In @zookeys.pensoft.net with @ilarisaaksjarvi.bsky.social, me, Emil, Kari, Simon.
A genus earlier mainly known from tropical Asia and Australia, with just one African species. After our Ugandan collecting, there are now two.
In @zookeys.pensoft.net with @ilarisaaksjarvi.bsky.social, me, Emil, Kari, Simon.
The article itself is a prime example of what impressive work Bernardo (Santos) is up to. Stenarella now has 18 species, of which 15 in Afrotropics. Good identification keys, DNA and morphological characters, clear maps..
September 12, 2025 at 12:27 PM
The article itself is a prime example of what impressive work Bernardo (Santos) is up to. Stenarella now has 18 species, of which 15 in Afrotropics. Good identification keys, DNA and morphological characters, clear maps..
Are any of the species new to science? Well, we've got (up to) 24 species of Zatypota spider parasitoids. WaspWeb lists only four described species in the whole Afrotropics.
Unsurprising TBH: tropical biologists soon get a "yeah, whatevs" attitude to new species.
Unsurprising TBH: tropical biologists soon get a "yeah, whatevs" attitude to new species.
Zatypota - WaspWeb
www.waspweb.org
September 5, 2024 at 7:13 PM
Are any of the species new to science? Well, we've got (up to) 24 species of Zatypota spider parasitoids. WaspWeb lists only four described species in the whole Afrotropics.
Unsurprising TBH: tropical biologists soon get a "yeah, whatevs" attitude to new species.
Unsurprising TBH: tropical biologists soon get a "yeah, whatevs" attitude to new species.
So that's the story of "9206–15577 Darwin wasp species in the Afrotropics". But do go and read the paper!
Because believe it or not, I've simplified it a lot.
End looong thread 🧪🧵
Because believe it or not, I've simplified it a lot.
End looong thread 🧪🧵
Species richness estimation of the Afrotropical Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae)
Species richness is one of the fundamental metrics of biodiversity. Estimating species richness helps spotlight taxonomic groups that are particularly under-studied, such as the highly diverse Darwin ...
doi.org
August 4, 2024 at 2:40 PM
So that's the story of "9206–15577 Darwin wasp species in the Afrotropics". But do go and read the paper!
Because believe it or not, I've simplified it a lot.
End looong thread 🧪🧵
Because believe it or not, I've simplified it a lot.
End looong thread 🧪🧵
So there are *at least* 9206–15577 species in the Afrotropics.
More species on the equator and Madagascar, less in southern Africa...
More species on the equator and Madagascar, less in southern Africa...
August 4, 2024 at 2:38 PM
So there are *at least* 9206–15577 species in the Afrotropics.
More species on the equator and Madagascar, less in southern Africa...
More species on the equator and Madagascar, less in southern Africa...
Results (at last!)
There we have it. After these "simple" steps, we have an estimate. There are 9206–15577 species in the Afrotropics...
There we have it. After these "simple" steps, we have an estimate. There are 9206–15577 species in the Afrotropics...
August 4, 2024 at 2:37 PM
Results (at last!)
There we have it. After these "simple" steps, we have an estimate. There are 9206–15577 species in the Afrotropics...
There we have it. After these "simple" steps, we have an estimate. There are 9206–15577 species in the Afrotropics...
Step 2 still continues
So do the obvious. (And alas, obviously insufficient)
If a genus has ever been seen in any Equatorial Afrotropical country, assume it's present everywhere in the Equatorial Afrotropics.
So do the obvious. (And alas, obviously insufficient)
If a genus has ever been seen in any Equatorial Afrotropical country, assume it's present everywhere in the Equatorial Afrotropics.
August 4, 2024 at 2:34 PM
Step 2 still continues
So do the obvious. (And alas, obviously insufficient)
If a genus has ever been seen in any Equatorial Afrotropical country, assume it's present everywhere in the Equatorial Afrotropics.
So do the obvious. (And alas, obviously insufficient)
If a genus has ever been seen in any Equatorial Afrotropical country, assume it's present everywhere in the Equatorial Afrotropics.
Step 1 (last Step 1, I promise)
We still have a problem: the genera that have been revised are usually "easy" ones = not lots of species, and few* of them undescribed. So some maths to account for this bias.
* few ≈ 1/2 new to science, instead of 90%.. this is the Afrotropics after all.
We still have a problem: the genera that have been revised are usually "easy" ones = not lots of species, and few* of them undescribed. So some maths to account for this bias.
* few ≈ 1/2 new to science, instead of 90%.. this is the Afrotropics after all.
August 4, 2024 at 2:32 PM
Step 1 (last Step 1, I promise)
We still have a problem: the genera that have been revised are usually "easy" ones = not lots of species, and few* of them undescribed. So some maths to account for this bias.
* few ≈ 1/2 new to science, instead of 90%.. this is the Afrotropics after all.
We still have a problem: the genera that have been revised are usually "easy" ones = not lots of species, and few* of them undescribed. So some maths to account for this bias.
* few ≈ 1/2 new to science, instead of 90%.. this is the Afrotropics after all.
Step 0
But first, divide the Afrotropics into five subrealms. And pick one country per subrealm. The number of species will be estimated for those.
Even that's going to be a challenge. As you'll soon see, we really don't have much data.
But first, divide the Afrotropics into five subrealms. And pick one country per subrealm. The number of species will be estimated for those.
Even that's going to be a challenge. As you'll soon see, we really don't have much data.
August 4, 2024 at 2:28 PM
Step 0
But first, divide the Afrotropics into five subrealms. And pick one country per subrealm. The number of species will be estimated for those.
Even that's going to be a challenge. As you'll soon see, we really don't have much data.
But first, divide the Afrotropics into five subrealms. And pick one country per subrealm. The number of species will be estimated for those.
Even that's going to be a challenge. As you'll soon see, we really don't have much data.