New Ant Species: 33 New Species Found in Central America and the Caribbean

There have been 33 new ant species discovered in Central America and the Caribbean.

'The nearly blind ants live in leaf litter and rotten logs in rainforests and are all quite tiny, each less than one-twelfth of an inch (2 millimeters) in length, according to new research," reported LiveScience.com.

Jack Longino, an entomologist from the University of Utah said to LiveScience.com, "The new species were found mostly in small patches of forest that remain in a largely agricultural landscape, highlighting the importance of forest conservation efforts in Central America. These crawling, chomping mini-beasts perform many vital roles in ecosystems, such as aerating soil and pollinating plants."

"Their faces are broad shields, the eyes reduced to tiny points at the edges and the fierce jaws bristling with sharp teeth. They look a little like the monster in 'Alien,'" he added when looked at through a microscope.

Thus far, scientists have recorded 15,000 species of ants around the world but there could be as many as 100,000 species said Longino. He has discovered 131 new species of ants.

"About half of the new ants were described in a paper co-authored by Longino and published July 29 in the journal Zootaxa. The rest are detailed in a paper to be published shortly in the same journal. The ants detailed in the present study come from the genus Eurhopalothrix, known for the club-shaped hairs on their bodies," reported LiveScience.com.

NPR reported that Longino started looking for ants in Central American rain forests but found the most difficult part was getting there.

"You know, when the truck is starting to slide backwards in the mud towards the cliff edge, those are scary moments," he said to NPR.

Then he uses a leaf litter on the ground with a machete and starts to shake through mesh screens into a bag which scientists call sifting.

"You don't see much when you look at it," Longino said," "but actually when you look close, there's a high concentration of little crawling things, and that's the gold."