Discoveries

Thyreophagus berxi, a mite species new to science discovered in Belgium

text by Jonas MerckxEnglish MiteFind, BINCO's mite workgroup, has discovered a new species for science in Belgium: Thyreophagus berxi. The different populations were discovered in Gentbrugge and Heverlee, but later also in France and Germany. The…


Sky Islands and Spiders: a brief tale of two contrasting discoveries in southern Africa

text by BROGAN PETT @BroganConBioI first got involved with BINCO through fieldwork in north-western Madagascar in 2017 surveying spiders in the enigmatic dry forests. From here on, I started working with Merlin and was very interested in the work…


New longhorn beetle from Cusuco National Park – Honduras

This charismatic new species of longhorn (Derobrachus cusucoensis) from montane forest in Cusuco National Park adds to the biological valorisation of the area. A small isolated mountain, part of the Merendon mountain range, Cusuco National Park is a…


Two newly described spider species from Uganda and Madagascar

Two spiders new to science were discovered and described by BINCO members under the supervision of African spider specialist Rudy Jocque. Koen Vanderhaegen discovered Dusmadiores elgonensis in coffee forests on Mount Elgon (Uganda) in 2015 during…


Short note: Crested rat in Ethiopia

During our expedition in Southwest Ethiopia last year (2014), we discovered a crested rat (Lophiomys imhausi) on one of our camera traps which, to our knowledge, is the first capture of this species on a camera trap in the wild. This elusive rodent…


Article with recent findings of the shining guest ant in Flanders

Our finding of a worker of the shining guest ant (August 2014, during the translocation of wood ant nest domes) was not the only one in recent years. According to the Red List of endangered species the shining guest ant status is vulnerable, but…


The shining guest ant – Third observation in Flanders

The shining guest ant (Formicoxenus nitidulus) is threatened with extinction according to the Flemish red list. Our observation of this species in Zoersel is the third in Flanders. These small ants (2-3 mm) are only found in and around nests of…


First Baird’s tapir from Honduras caught on film

During a Binco Express Inventory last June in the Pico Bonito National Park in Honduras one of our cameras caught a Baird’s tapir (Tapirus bairdii) on film. Although being photographed several times with a camera trap, this is the first time that…