Researcher Discovers New 'Fluffy' Beetle in Australia After Almost Mistaking It for Bird Droppings

A researcher camping on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, has discovered a new genus of fluffy longhorn beetle after almost mistaking it for bird droppings due to its hairy, white appearance, the University of Queensland said.

Images released by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) shows the beetle, named Excastra albopilosa, which was discovered by PhD candidate James Tweed.

“I was walking through the campsite at Binna Burra Lodge one morning and something on a lomandra leaf caught my eye,” Tweed told the University of Queensland.

“To my amazement, I saw the most extraordinary and fluffiest longhorn beetle I had ever seen," he said.

Tweed was unable to identify the beetle on the spot and instead took pictures and posted them on various Facebook groups.

However, it wasn’t until a trip to the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC) in Canberra that Tweed was able to confirm that he had discovered a new genus of beetle.

“We chose the name Excastra for the genus, which is Latin for ‘from the camp,’ and for the species name, we decided on albopilosa which translates to ‘white and hairy’,” Tweed said.

Researchers are not yet sure why the beetle grows its long, white hairs, but Tweed said it could be to fool predators into thinking it had been killed by an insect-eating fungus and to stay away.

Tweed has yet to find another specimen of the same genus. Credit: CSIRO via Storyful

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