Senicornus evanescens

“Vanishing ancient horns”
Kingdom
Microsynthera
Phylum
Plasticae
Class
Occlupanida
Order
Orthogonidectes
Family
Tridentidae
Genus
Senicornus
Species
S. evanescens
External morphology

Numerous lateral palps, and shallow indentation on aboral edge. Size 21.5 mm x 23.2 mm.

A mysterious wonder. The earliest records of this species date to 2015, seen in a Dutch blog post. But only recently (and briefly) was it observed and collected in the field. In January of 2024 it was spotted on Sidon Bakery bread in Sydney, Australia. A few days later this occlupanid had disappeared, its Lebanese bread host now found only with Palpatophora utiliformis. Though it has been spotted in some collection, Senicornus evanescens has not been found on a host since. Any fortunate researcher that encounters this species should be aware of the fragility of the specimens due to its thin integument. Species discovered and described by Kurisu (FORC).