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New leafhopper species found in New Jersey Pine Barrens

"The description of any new species may serve as a catalyst for additional research," said species-discoverer Andrew Hicks.

By Brooks Hays
A specimen of the newly identified leafhopper species. Photo by Andrew Hicks/ZooKeys
A specimen of the newly identified leafhopper species. Photo by Andrew Hicks/ZooKeys

BOULDER, Colo., July 6 (UPI) -- A previously unknown species of leafhopper has been discovered in the New Jersey Pine Barrens by researchers with the Museum of Natural History at the University of Colorado.

The mystery species was located among a plant species called pinebarren smokegrass, Muhlenbergia torreyana, that is listed as endangered by state officials.

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The discovery was made by team of researchers from Colorado, headed by Andrew Hicks. Their field work was assisted by Dr. Gerry Moore, a scientist at North Carolina's Natural Resources Conservation Service, as well as Uli Lorimer from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

The species is a member of the genus Flexamia, and was named F. whitcombi in honor of Hicks' mentor, colleague and friend, Dr. Robert Whitcomb. Like the newly discovered insect, most species of the genus Flexamia are partial to (and dependent on) a specific plant -- many of which are threatened by pollution and habitat loss.

Leafhoppers are a family of winged, grasshopper-like insects that suck the sap from grasses and shrubs.

As is so often the case, researchers say the newly discovered species is vulnerable to habitat loss. Leafhoppers and other vulnerable leafhoppers aren't alone in New Jersey, as recent studies suggest pine barrens across the East Coast and Midwest are shrinking, being taken over by mature forest.

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Further studies may offer scientists a better understanding of the new species' distribution and ecological standing.

"The description of any new species may serve as a catalyst for additional research, and this will be best accomplished while the species still can be found in nature -- something that can no longer be taken for granted," Hicks said in a press release.

"To delay the publication of a species description until the time of a genus revision is to deny the pace of change in the natural world in the 21st century and may consign said new species to a future status of 'known from a single collection,' or 'presumed extinct, life history unknown,'" Hicks added.

The new species is described for the first time in the science journal ZooKeys.

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