With over 14,000 known ant species across the globe, these tiny invertebrates offer a remarkable diversity of forms and behaviors. From the industrious leafcutter ant to the formidable army ant, each species has adapted uniquely to its environment. But then there are those like the enigmatic Leptanilla, a genus that truly stands out in the ant kingdom.
Among the members of Leptanilla, only about 61 species have been identified. These ants distinguish themselves by their secretive, underground lives. Unlike their more conspicuous relatives, all species of Leptanilla are hypogaeic, meaning they form small colonies that nest and forage solely beneath the earth’s surface. Leptanilla voldemort, or L. voldemort for short, is the latest discovery belonging to this elusive genus.
How L. voldemort Was Discovered
The name L. voldemort, inspired by the sinister character Lord Voldemort from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, is quite fitting for the newly discovered Australian ant species, which adds a touch of intrigue and dread typical of Australia’s unique and often daunting wildlife.
The continent is a hotspot for ant diversity, with species estimates ranging from 1,300 to over 5,000, reflecting a wide range of ecological niches and evolutionary adaptations. But the genus Leptanilla, to which the new species belongs is mysterious and elusive—the first Leptanilla species discovered in Australia, Leptanilla swani, was identified in 1931 and has scarcely been seen since.
The rugged and ancient Pilbara region of northwestern Australia, with its landscape that began forming around 3.6 billion years ago, is one of the oldest on Earth. Despite harsh conditions, it is rich in biodiversity, particularly subterranean invertebrates. It was during an ecological survey aimed at documenting this hidden world that researchers unearthed this new species of ant.
Lowering a net down a 82-foot drill hole and skillfully retrieving it as it scraped against the hole’s inner surfaces—a technique known as subterranean scraping—they found two specimens of L. voldemort, according to a recent paper published in ZooKeys.
Why The Name ‘L. voldemort’?
Lord Voldemort, the primary antagonist from the popular children’s franchise Harry Potter, is known to be a shadowy and powerful figure, often operating unseen and inspiring fear among others.
Similarly, the ant species named L. voldemort embodies a sense of mystery and stealth. With its blind, ghostly-white form, slender body and elongated, spindly appendages, this ant is well-adapted to a life of obscurity in the underground. Its appearance and predatory nature, suggested by its sharp jaws, evoke the sinister and feared character after which it is named.
Just as Voldemort is often hidden from the wizarding world, L. voldemort thrives in hidden, subterranean environments, possibly even within unique niches such as air-filled voids or deep rock crevices, adding to the allure and mystique of this newly discovered species.
It’s still unclear what exactly L. voldemort eats. While other species of Leptanilla ants are known to hunt geophilomorph centipedes (elongated, worm-like centipedes with numerous legs that live underground and feed on small invertebrates), L. voldemort might also target different underground creatures such as centipedes from the Cryptopidae family, underground cockroaches and pauropods (small, millipede-like invertebrates), all of which were found in the same drill hole as this new ant species.
