the-circles-of-life:Lutrochus meridaensisOtter Beetleft. Crystal Maier As a kid, entomologist Cr
the-circles-of-life: Lutrochus meridaensisOtter Beetle ft. Crystal Maier As a kid, entomologist Crystal Maier loved getting her feet wet. “What excites me most is standing in the middle of a mountain stream with my toes in the water, cool water running past, with a net full of little tiny creatures waiting to be discovered,” she says. This is how she got to know aquatic beetles, which are known for their love for clean water. Now, as an adult, she got to study her favorite bugs as a career. In fact, her PhD revolved around investigating beetles from the family Lutrochidae, which at the time only had 11 species, all of which are small, fuzzy, and brown. They live in waterlogged plant debris or on travertine—calcium deposits in streams—giving them the nickname “travertine beetles.” In reality, less than 50% actually live on travertine. “I’m a huge advocate for calling them “otter beetles,” from the genus name “Lutra,” the Latin name for a genus of otters. It makes sense, because they are fuzzy, brown, and are equally at home on land and in the water, just like otters!” she adds. In her research, she identified many new species that have been sitting in museum collections for years, sometimes centuries. This highlights the importance of museums as repositories of diversity and how much is still waiting to be discovered. Worldwide, there are over 2,000 known species of aquatic beetles, a small number compared to the grand total of 400,000 species of beetles in the world. Beetles make up 40% of currently known insect species and a 25% of all animal species living today. But if she had to choose a single species that means a lot to her, it would be Lutrochus meridaensis. It lives clinging to the face of Cascada Velo de la Novia, a waterfall in Venezuela, burrowing through the liverworts that grow on the water-splashed rock. It was among the several unidentified Venezuelan beetles handed to her by her PhD supervisor. At the end of the project, Crystal described and named 6 species from the country alone, with many more discovered in the rest of the world. “An important part of science is describing and understanding what exists in the natural world, so that we may better understand our place in it.” — Crystal Maier is an insect collection manager at The Field Museum. Get to know Crystal, water beetles, and her museum life. Twitter · Instagram — My main blog · Ko-fi · Patreon -- source link