Posted: Oct 04, 2017 6:33 pm
There's a paper due to be published in the journal Polar Biology, centred upon a species of bee, Bombus glacialis, which is described as new to science. Nothing unusual in that, you might think, until you learn that the species is endemic to the island of Novaya Zemlya.
For those unfamiliar with this far northern island off the Siberian coast of Russia, Novaya Zemlya was used for nuclear weapons testing by the former Soviet Union, including the test of the Tsar Bomba, a 50 megaton weapon which, when detonated, was the most powerful weapon ever detonated by Man.
One could be forgiven for thinking that a 50 megaton nuclear detonation would wipe out everything alive on the island. But, apparently, this bee have not only survived the Tsar Bomba nuclear test, but provided evidence that it could be a new species.
More on this here.
I'll see if the paper materialises in the near future.
For those unfamiliar with this far northern island off the Siberian coast of Russia, Novaya Zemlya was used for nuclear weapons testing by the former Soviet Union, including the test of the Tsar Bomba, a 50 megaton weapon which, when detonated, was the most powerful weapon ever detonated by Man.
One could be forgiven for thinking that a 50 megaton nuclear detonation would wipe out everything alive on the island. But, apparently, this bee have not only survived the Tsar Bomba nuclear test, but provided evidence that it could be a new species.
I'll see if the paper materialises in the near future.