A type of aquatic firefly discovered in Keelung has recently been confirmed to be a new species, the Wild Bird Society of Keelung said on Wednesday.
The new species was discovered while the society was working on a three-year project on firefly ecology and rehabilitation, which began in 2022 and was commissioned by the Keelung City Government, the society said in a statement.
It added that it first saw the fireflies in the mountains in Keelung’s Nuannuan District (暖暖) in the first year of the project, and with the help of firefly expert Chen Tsan-jung (陳燦榮) and National Museum of Natural Science Department of Biology chair Cheng Ming-lun (鄭明倫), they were confirmed to be part of a new species.
Photo courtesy of the Wild Bird Society of Keelung
The newly discovered fireflies fly at canopy height, and their larvae live and forage in water, meaning it is also an aquatic species — the fourth aquatic firefly species discovered in Taiwan, the society said.
The species has been temporarily named the “Beimiao” (北杪) firefly, relating to the fact it was discovered in northern Taiwan and flies at canopy height, the society said. Director of the society Shen Chin-feng (沈錦豐) said that the Aquatica hydrophila, a Taiwanese aquatic firefly, and the Pristolycus kanoi Nakane, the only semi-aquatic firefly species in Taiwan, are also present in Keelung.
He said that this, and the discovery of the new firefly species, shows that Keelung has a good natural habitat and clean water supply, particularly in Nuannuan and Qidu districts.
He added that in addition to the new species found in Nuannuan, during a survey conducted in five different parts of Keelung as part of the project, the highest number of fireflies were found in the Youruei (友蚋) area of Qidu District (七堵).
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