Kosovar biologist names newly discovered insect after coronavirus

20 April 2021, 10:54

Professor Halil Ibrahimi looks under a microscope at an insect named Potamophylax coronavirus inside a lab in Pristina, Kosovo
Kosovo New Insect. Picture: PA

Restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic helped Professor Halil Ibrahimi sit down and complete his research.

Restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic have helped a Kosovar biologist sit down and complete his research, raise public awareness of the pollution of river basins – and name a new insect after the virus.

Professor Halil Ibrahimi, 44, had spent years working on a research report on a caddisfly species found in Kosovo’s western Bjeshket e Nemuna (Accursed Mountains) national park.

That species now bears the name Potamophylax coronavirus.

As an associate professor of the Natural Sciences Faculty at Pristina University, Prof Ibrahimi collected the species, which turned out to be endemic to the national park, 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of the capital Pristina, and found it was quite different from the other species in the Balkans.

Professor Halil Ibrahimi searches his net for insects near a polluted stream in Siceve, Kosovo
Professor Halil Ibrahimi searches his net for insects near a polluted stream in Siceve, Kosovo (Visar Kryeziu/AP)

It is considerably smaller, and lives in a different habitat, in open, high-altitude zones, some 2,000 metres (6,500ft) above sea level.

He announced the new name he had chosen for the species in a scientific magazine this month.

“Coronavirus was the most vivid thing during the time when the species was discovered,” Prof Ibrahimi said.

During his research, he also noticed that the Lumbardhi i Decanit River, where the new species was found, has severely deteriorated over recent years due to the construction of a hydropower plant.

Kosovo and the Balkan countries have a long history of environmental pollution of all kinds, from sewage water pumped directly into rivers to deforestation and mismanagement of hydropower plants.

Professor Halil Ibrahimi inspects an insect named Potamophylax coronavirus inside a lab in Pristina
Prof Ibrahimi inspects an insect named Potamophylax coronavirus inside a lab in Pristina (Visar Kryeziu/AP)

“It has the same effect on the species living in the rivers as the coronavirus is causing to humankind these days,” Prof Ibrahimi said.

The overall environmental situation in Kosovo has worsened over recent years, with increased construction, traffic and industrial pollution, as well as the government’s efforts to promote small hydropower plants as an alternative energy source.

“Uncontrolled use of water resources and damage to river beds still remains one of the forms of degradation of our water resources,” according to a report on Kosovo’s environment published last year.

People should “rethink their attitude towards the environment” because these insects are “the first barrier before the pollution comes to the humans”, Prof Ibrahimi said.

Professor Halil Ibrahimi looks under a microscope at an insect named Potamophylax coronavirus, inside a lab in Pristina
Prof Ibrahimi looks under a microscope at the insect (Visar Kryeziu/AP)

“They are the first indicators that something is going wrong in the environment … in order to be prepared for the pollution impacting directly on ourselves.”

Now that the virus and the insect are forever linked via the name, “the institutions must undertake measures to stop this degradation to the environment, and people must start considering these insect species as part of their own life”, Prof Ibrahimi said.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Video footage shows the convoy had emergency lights flashing when it was hit

Israel admits ‘mistakenly’ killing 15 aid workers after video leak contradicted official version of events

Jaguar Land Rover has paused shipments to the US in the wake of 'Liberation Day' tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover halts shipments to US in wake of tariffs as Trump insists he'll win 'economic revolution'

Flowers and toys left on a swing seat to commemorate victims killed in Russia's missile attack on Friday

Death toll from Russian strike on Zelenskyy's home town rises as 18 confirmed dead - including nine children

Donald Trump's 10% tariff on UK products has officially come into force

Trump tariffs come into force as global stock markets plunge deeper into the red

Tom Howard

British tourist killed after being struck by boulder on trek through Himalayas

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a car burns following a Russian missile attack that killed more than a dozen people, including children, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia kills 16 people including three children in missile strike on Zelenskyy's home town, with dozens wounded

Travel influencer Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, made an illegal visit to North Sentinel Island

Tourist who left Coke for world's most isolated tribe 'could have wiped them all out' - and police 'can't go collect can'

White House weighs in to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

White House looking to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

This image provided by NASA shows Nick Hague, right, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore. (NASA via AP)

Stranded NASA astronauts reveal they were almost trapped in space 'forever' after horror malfunction

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen'

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen' after far-right leader found guilty of embezzlement in 'witch hunt'

China will impose a 34% retaliatory tariff on imports from the US

China announces additional 34% tariffs on US imports in retaliation over Trump's 'Liberation Day' levies

Friends of Prince Andrew say he's "unsurprised" Giuffre made the post

Prince Andrew 'not surprised' his accuser shared shock post saying she had 'four days to live'

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol removed from office as impeachment upheld over martial law declaration

Virginia Giuffre

Woman driving Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre during crash that left her with 'four days to live' breaks silence

Exclusive
'Donald Trump has made Putin comfortable,' Mikhail Khodorkovsky has warned

'Trump has made Putin comfortable' despite massive Ukraine war losses, exiled former oligarch tells LBC

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour.

British couple found dead in south of France home being ‘treated as murder-suicide’