This word means: Nelloptodes gretae | Explained News, The Indian Express

This word means: Nelloptodes gretae | Explained News, The Indian Express

By Express News Service |Published: October 28, 2019 3:40:24 am

This word means: Nelloptodes gretae

A species of beetle named after Greta Thunberg. Where is it from, and what are its defining features?

Measuring just 0.79 millimetres, the beetle has no eyes or wings, with a small pit between where the eyes should have been.

Between 1964 and 1965, an entomologist called William Brock collected samples of soil from around east Africa. Inside one of these samples, taken in Kenya and stored in the British Natural History Museum until now, was a tiny species of beetle, pale yellow and gold. Measuring just 0.79 millimetres, the beetle has no eyes or wings, with a small pit between where the eyes should have been.