The first case of a Portuguese beetle living exclusively in groundwater

(Pensoft Publishers) A diving beetle demonstrating various adaptations to the life underground, including depigmentation and evolutionary loss of eyes, was discovered in the cave Soprador do Carvalho, Portugal. This new to science species is the first known representative of the whole order of beetles to exclusively inhabit the underground waters of Portugal. The insect is described by the team of Dr Ignacio Ribera and Prof Ana Sofia P. S. Reboleira in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: news