Kashmiri researcher discovers two ‘rare insect species’
SPOTLIGHT
IMRAN MUZAFFAR
Srinagar, Aug 1: In a significant contribution to the field of entomology (the study of insects), a research scholar from Kashmir has discovered two new rare species of an insect ‘Trichoptera’ (Caddisflies) in the Himalayan regions of Baderwah (Jammu) and Lachung (Sikkim).
The two new species – ‘Eubasilissa sikkimensis’ and ‘Eubasilissa schmidi’ – have been discovered by Dr Sajad Hussain Parey during his doctorate course, which he finished recently, at the Department of Zoology and Environmental Sciences, Punjabi University, Patiala.
Dr Sajad hails from Hajin town of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
According to an international journal on animal taxonomy ‘Zootaxa’, New Zealand, Dr Sajad is one of the few entomologists from India to have surveyed the entire Indian Himalayan belt (J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura) during his doctoral research. The research paper on the discovery of the two new species has also been published in the same journal ‘Zootaxa 3403: 61–68 (2012)’ this year.
The research states that with the addition of two new species, the genus Eubasilissa is represented by 9 valid species from India. “Two new species of the genus Eubasilissa Martynov are described and illustrated from the Indian Himalaya, namely Eubasilissa sikkimensis sp. nov. from Lachung (Sikkim) that appears close to Eubasilissa maclachlani (White, 1862) and Eubasilissa schmidi sp. nov. from Baderwah (Jammu & Kashmir) that resembles Eubasilissa avalokhita Schmid, 1962. Before the discovery of the two species the genus Eubasilissa was represented by 7 species,” it says.
Talking to Greater Kashmir over phone, Dr Sajad said the genus Eubasilissa were the largest caddisflies known from India. “Earlier only 7 species of this genus were reported from India and only 17 species over the world. With the discovery of these two rare species, the genus Eubasilissa is represented by 9 from India and 19 from the World,” he said.
Commenting on the scope of research in entomology in the State, he said Jammu & Kashmir was still unexplored as far as the existence and importance of the insects was concerned. “Many new and wonderful discoveries could be made if extensive and intensive surveys and researches are undertaken,” he said.
Sajad said such rare insects were among the most significant biomonitoring agents for determining the quality of water and to access the health status of an aquatic ecosystem. “This is a biological technique voraciously used by European scientists for predicting water pollution. Such techniques if driven in India would solve many problem of water pollution,” the scholar said.
Sajad said genus Eubasilissa was confined to the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
He said he was working on some more projects in the Himalayan region. “Given the richness of the Himalayan stretch, I am fascinated by its vastness. The only thing is that as scholars we need to do research and travel,” Sajad said, adding “J&K Government has much to find in the Himalayan region provided extensive and intensive researches are carried out.”
Sajad has recently joined as senior research fellow at Pollinators, Pollinizers and Pollination Management Research Centre of Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Srinagar.
Source; Greater kashmir
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