New species found at Wadi Wurayah

After four years, several hundred insect traps and dozens of international researchers, the secrets of Wadi Wurayah are making a buzz with the latest discovery of another 55 new species of which 25 are new to science. Since 2008 Antonius Van Harten, 65, an entomologist from Holland who previously lived in Sharjah started recording insects and species in the UAE under the patronage of Shaikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of Abu Dhabi Executive Council. Van Harten completed four volumes of Arthropod Fauna of the UAE, an intensive inventory of insects, spiders, scorpions and terrestrial crustaceans of the UAE. In three years 932 new species to the UAE had been found, and of those 167 were new to science. Another 55 species can now be added to the rich fauna of Wadi Wurayah, of which 25 are considered new to science, according to the Emirates Wildlife Socity-WWF which continued the research, verification and collaboration Fujairah Municipality and local authorities. The new species include a golden bug called Sphenoptera vanharteni, a long-legged ant called Lepisiota elegantissima and a gecko: Asaccus gallagheri. The total finds from Wadi Wurayah are composed of two species of Arachnida which refers to spiders, scorpions and ticks, one species of terrestrial Crustacean under which crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles are listed, one species of Entognatha or springtails, and 51 species of Insects such as bugs, flies, ants or butterflies. "These discoveries highlight the importance of conserving the habitats of the UAE," said Christophe Tourenq, senior conservation manager of EWS-WWF. Due to its habitat diversity and the presence of permanent water, the 129 square-kilometre Wadi Wurayah is considered a stronghold for the wildlife in UAE. In October 2010, the East Coast wadi officially joined the list of 1,932 wetlands around the world which are of international importance for biodiversity conservation under the Ramsar Convention. "The protection of the many unique life forms that reside in our natural environment is interconnected with and interdependent on the protection of these habitats. The sustainability of our lifestyle is also dependent on the health of our natural environment and the resources it provides," said Tourenq. Another Wadi Wurayah species was discovered on the night of June 12 by two reptiles and amphibian specialists; researcher Theodore J. Papenfuss from University of Berkley, California, and his assistant, Todd Pierson, who were assisted by Fujairah Municipality and EWS-WWF staff.They spotted a tiny gecko on the gravel bed of the wadi: the Gallagher's leaf-toed gecko (Asaccus gallagheri). Males of this elegant minuscule gecko of less than 7cm show a beautifully coloured yellow tail and feed on the insects they chase in the dark, thanks to their night-vision. The Gallagher's leaf-toed gecko was first described in Masafi, UAE in 1972 and is only found in the UAE and northern Oman.