This is what the aquatic insect discovered in Vichada looks like

It is news these days the discovery of a new aquatic insect in our country. It happened in the department of Vichada and was named as Zunielmis Pax. It belongs to the order Coleoptera and has been described as one of the most abundant among the sponges Drulia and Metania. Cristian Granados Martínez, professor at the University of La Guajira, together with a group of experts in Taxonomy, achieved the discovery as a result of several scientific expeditions they had undertaken in the department.

According to what Granados Martínez said, the name of the insect comes from a combination between “Zuni”, derived from Zúñiga, as a recognition of the work carried out by Dr. María del Carmen Zúñiga, a pioneer scientist in the taxonomic study of the Elmidae family in the country, and the suffix “Elmis”, which is associated with the type of genus of collected animal. The name of the species comes from a Latin noun Pax, which means “Peace”.

For the researcher, the discovery is a great contribution to the biodiversity of Colombia and the world. “(...) we have learned that these areas of Vichada and others near the Orinoco River are suffering from forest burning and it means something good, amid so many bad things,” he said. This is the fourth new species that Granados Martínez discovers, which places not only his work but also that of the University of La Guajira on the international radar as one of the fundamental pillars in the production of knowledge, study and research on aquatic macroinvertebrates in the country.

Since 2016, with the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute, which learned about the teacher's work and the chapter of the book he wrote about the aquatic biota of the La Macuira mountain range, several expeditions have been carried out along Vichada rivers, which belong to areas affected by the armed conflict for years. In the first expedition, the species Campsurus Vichada was discovered, in the Tomo River, and then Campsurus Cristales in Caño Cristales.

According to studies published in 2017, under this alliance, the area in which the insect was discovered, particularly in the vicinity of the Bita River, has presented valuable information in recent years regarding the preservation of Colombia's fauna and flora. In fact, this river has become a conservation area thanks to the biodiversity it brings together, from sponges and crustaceans, to fish and reptiles. You can find about 24 species of plants, 11 of crustaceans, 254 of fish, 19 of amphibians, 38 of reptiles, 201 of birds and 63 of mammals.

The Vichada is located in a region that extends from the foothills of the eastern mountain range in the Eastern Plains to Venezuela, over the Orinoco River basin. The department is bordered to the north by Casanare and Arauca, to the north and east by Venezuela, to the south by Guainía, to the southwest by Guaviare and to the west by Meta. It houses one of the most important environmental and biodiversity jewels in the country: the aforementioned Bita River. As it flows unhindered for more than 598 kilometers before flowing into the Orinoco River, the Bita is home to countless species and its freshwater habitats and forest ecosystems are a refuge for river dolphins, blue arawana and charapa turtle.

El Tuparro National Natural Park is also one of the areas conducive to the care and preservation of biodiversity. It is a sanctuary for birds (there are more than 320 species), orchids, monkeys, snakes and toninas. There is also an old cemetery that belonged to the indigenous nation of the Maipures, who have now disappeared. In 1982 it was declared a national monument, the core area of a Biosphere Reserve. Because of its importance to the planet and its environmental fragility, access to the public is restricted.

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