‘Unusual’ colorful creature found in dead leaves. It turned out to be rare discovery

Amid the dull hues of dead leaves and bark, researchers in Japan recently spotted something colorful — an “unusual” new species.

The minuscule creature was determined to be a previously unidentified type of collembola, also known as a springtail, co-authors Hiro Kasai, Shingo Tanaka and Takuo Sawahata said in study published May 3 in Zootaxa.

Springtails are tiny, wingless, primitive insects that range in size from 0.04 to 0.4 inches, according Britannica. They are found all over the world, including in Antarctica. They are named springtail after the forked appendage at the end of their abdomen that allows them to jump, or “spring.”

Researchers named the animal Crossodonthina elegans and identified it as the first species of its kind to be discovered with a two-color pattern. Unlike other species in the genus, which are typically monochrome, the Crossodonthina elegans is a dark magenta color and has yellow and white stripes, experts said.

The creatures were found on Yonaguni, an island off the eastern coast of Taiwan.

Neighboring islands have similar creatures, but they are monochrome, unlike the collembolan discovered on Yonaguni, the study said. This indicates that the Crossodonthina elegans’ pattern could have evolved on the island where it was found.

The new discovery marks the first known species among Crossodonthina to have a bicolored body, according to the study.

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