Losgna Occidentalis

Losgna Occidentalis Latest News

A recent study published in Zootaxa, a peer-reviewed scientific journal for animal taxonomists, pointed out the rediscovery of the Losgna genus in India, after close to six decades.

About Losgna Occidentalis

• It was discovered from an urban dry scrub forest in Chandigarh.
• It belongs to a parasitic wasp (family Ichneumonidae), a group known for laying eggs inside or on other arthropod hosts.
• Prior to this discovery, Losgna had not been recorded in India since Heinrich’s 1965 monograph. No records, specimens or published literature on Losgna existed in any Indian institution after 1965.
• It appeared that the genus had vanished entirely from its once‐documented range in northeast India 
• Researched named the new species ‘Losgna occidentalis’ because it represents the westernmost known occurrence of the genus: prior records came exclusively from tropical forests of eastern India and adjacent regions of Southeast Asia.
• At present only existing specimens of any Losgna species are those preserved at the Natural History Museum, London.

Losgna Occidentalis FAQs

Q1: What is a Parasite?

Ans: It is an organism that lives on or in another organism, the host, and gets its food from or at the expense of its host.

Q2: What are Tropical Forests?

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Ans: Tropical forests are rich ecosystems located in tropical zones surrounding the equator. They make up six percent of Earth’s land surface area.

Source: TH