Admordorsum aotearoa

“Bitten-back from New Zealand”

Kingdom
Microsynthera
Phylum
Plasticae
Class
Occlupanida
Order
Orthogonidectes
Family
Tridentidae
Genus
Admordorsum
Species
aotearoa
External morphology

Some markings present. Size 21.7 mm x 24.8 mm.

This distinctive occlupanid was discovered on a bag of corn thins by researchers at NIWA in Wellington, and was featured in their Critter of the Week. Originally thought to be related to Nevani spinustratum, it is now considered a new genus due to its distinctive edge morphology. While the genus refers to the shallow divot on its posterior edge, the species name is the Māori word for New Zealand. Over 18,000 km away in the Netherlands, a startlingly similar species was also discovered; an exciting phenomenon that has many on the HORG staff eagerly applying for grant-funded collecting trips to New Zealand, the Netherlands, or, less popularly, at the midway point 600 km off the coast of India, in the Bay of Bengal.