WUHAN, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Scientists have identified new species of insects and plants in central China's Shennongjia National Nature Reserve, according to a report released on Thursday.
Seven kinds of flies and three types of dragonflies have been discovered in Shennongjia over the past five years, together with Zhengyia shennongensis, a new genus and species of the nettle family.
The discoveries are part of a newly completed research project on Shennongjia natural resources. The research, which took five years, has resulted in a comprehensive report on the area's geography, animals, plants, microbes and human residents.
The discoveries have offered further evidence that Shennongjia is one of the most biologically rich places on Earth, said Deng Tao, researcher at Kunming Institute of Botany under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who was also the first botanist to describe Zhengyia.
Deng and his colleagues first found Zhengyia in a deep valley in northwestern Shennongjia in 2011. After studying samples of the plant for two years he discovered that it was a new genus, with roots dating back as far as 33 million years ago.
Deng and his team named the plant after the renowned Chinese botanist Wu Zhengyi. Their findings were published in "Taxon," a leading journal on biodiversity, in 2013.
However, Zhengyia, a "living fossil" in Deng's words, is critically endangered, with READ MORE-http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-11/05/c_134787764.htm
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