Welcome Dr Thary! A Week of Collaborative Dung Beetle Study

From 4 to 6 Feb 2026, the Tropical Ecology and Entomology (TEE) Lab ASE NTU welcomed our visitor Dr Thary Gazi Goh, dung beetle researcher from Malaysia! During this visit, he was hosted by our PhD student, Zann Teo Jiexin, as they continue to work together on investigating and describing a potential new species from Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia.

By combining morphological data together with the comparison of DNA sequences (COI), we intend to apply integrative taxonomy concepts to describe a new dung beetle species.

We first compare images of type specimens (from our recent visits to natural history museums overseas) with our own specimens, to investigate whether the morphospecies from Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia could be an already-described species, or if it has potential to be a new species.

Examining external traits of our specimens.

During this visit, we also studied a large series of specimens from Singapore, and also compared them to specimens from Peninsular Malaysia. A large series is needed to understand variation in the species, with some traits such as horn size and colouration often showing the most variation. We keep a lookout for structural traits such as puncturing, which tends to be consistent throughout a species.

We also carried out dissections of male specimens to study the structure of the male genitalia -- a crucial trait in dung beetle taxonomy.

Comparing the male genitalia of the type specimen with our own specimens.

Dissection work: The removal of the internal sac (above) from the male genitalia (aka the "aedeagus", below). Look at how cleanly it came out!

After deducing that it is highly likely that our species is one that is new to science, we spent the remaining time selecting a series of specimens to create our description. To be thorough, we intend to describe the major, media, and minor form of the males, and also the female. A detailed description ensures that it will be useful to future researchers, and thus including high-quality images and notes on variation are also crucial in our work.

Zann and Dr Thary selected some potential type specimens for the new species!

The suggested name for this new species shall be kept a secret for now, but keep a lookout for more updates as we continue to unravel the taxonomy of Southeast Asian dung beetles! Looking forward to our continued collaboration with Dr Thary! :)

During his visit, Dr Thary also joined in during our lab meeting, and shared about his research background and academic journey. We especially appreciated his insights on the importance of natural history observations and the nuance needed in interpreting systematically-collected data! | Image: Li Yuen