BUCHAREST, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Romania has discovered a new insect species for the country's fauna -- the steppe weevil, the Romanian Ornithological Society (SOR) announced on Thursday in a release.
According to SOR, the discovery was made in July, in a fauna monitoring activity in the Delta of Moldova by a biologist team of the bird conservation organization.
The new species, Leucomigus candidatus, is a species of beetle and was found and identified by biologist Alexandru Pintilioaie, who works as an entomologist in the European project implemented by SOR in the northeastern area.
Pintilioaie explained that it is a specie of beetle that does not stand out for ordinary people, since its maximum length is only 16 mm. However, it is a giant compared to other species of weevil that reach only two to three millimetres in length.
According to the SOR, the species lives in North Africa, Asia and Europe, where it can be found only in the steppe regions of the European part of Russia and Ukraine.
In Ukraine, it is a protected species included on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Since 2018, the species is part of Romania's fauna and the species is expected to be present in other similar habitats in the eastern, southeastern and southern parts of the country.
