8,000 new insect species identified in Ecuador using DNA analysis

A group of researchers from Ecuador's National Institute of Biodiversity (INABIO) have genetically identified 8,000 new insect species in a protected forest in Ecuador's Andean Choco region, which has been designated a World Biosphere Reserve. The researchers used genetic material from specimens collected in the Mashpi-Tayra private reserve. "We have 8,000 species in Mashpi, 96 percent of which are unique -- they are found only in Mashpi," says INABIO Executive Director Diego Inclan. "Thanks to this new technology, we have the opportunity to study these tiny insects, which we are getting to know for the first time," he adds.