New ant with barbed body found in Australia

The new ant species have been found in the rehabilitated areas of bauxite mining in the Northern Territory of Australia. The species was discovered by Dr. Ben Hoffman of CSIRO in Rio Tinto mines near Nhulunbuy, and the new ant called Spiny Ant Kohout and included in the genus Polyrhachis which means it has a lot of thorns.

The Kohout's spiny ant. (Picture from: http://ab.co/1DZkOes)

Dr. Ben said, there are some new ant species found recently in the region, but the spiny ant kohout is one of the most interesting. "He had a similar thorn bull horns very large in the back of his body. It's interesting, but it must be remembered that this year alone, we've put 98 new species to the existing collection in Darwin," he explained.

He added, "We honestly do not know how many species of ants that are out there, as we continue to discover so many new species." And Dr. Ben said, he has got an ant named after him, so he chose the name of a new species Rudy is like a retired scientist kohout, which published many journal of the genus Polyrhachis.

"Over the years, he [Rudy] dedicates itself to specific taxonomic groups of ants, so I think it would be very interesting if it becomes a real privilege to call one of the ants like him, and he was happy to accept it," said Dr. Ben. ***  [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | ABC.NET.AU]

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