Three insect species were spotted for the first time in outlying Kinmen County, according to the local government’s Forestry Bureau May 21.
In a bureau-commissioned study conducted earlier this year, Coptosoma nigricolor, Ectrychotes andreae and Micraspis discolor were sighted in Kinmen Botanical Garden by researchers from Formosa Ecological Co.
Established in 2008 on 26 hectares of land, the garden is home to 564 different species, according to bureau Director Yang Hui-ming, who attributed the habitat’s rich biodiversity to a pristine ecological state preserved in part by the island’s military heritage.
The official said the sightings indicate that there could be more discoveries in the garden, adding that the bureau will continue conducting field studies and implementing measures to promote awareness of conservation. Results of the research will be published by the end of 2014, she added.
In another study by Kinmen National Park Administration earlier this year, researchers from National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium identified Cassidula doliolum, a species never documented in East Asia.
The same researchers also found Anabas testudineus in a field study last year. The species is believed to have been extinct on Taiwan proper due to environmental pollution, according to the county government. (SFC-JSM)
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