The number of small undiscovered insects in the rainforest is probably endless. But that hasn’t stopped citizen scientists from making expeditions into Borneo’s Great Temburong Forest and adding them, one by one, to the scientific record. Together with a team of researchers, they published a new species of Clavicornaltica. mataikanensis studied Journal of Biodiversity Data has open access.

The tiny two-millimeter leafeater, which lives on the forest floor, is the latest find from Taxon Expeditions, which organizes scientific expeditions for teams of both scientists and non-scientists. Unlike other science/adventure tours, Taxon Expeditions organizes true scientific expeditions for ordinary people by focusing on the “thousands of little things that run the world,” leading them to discover new animal species.

The tour, which was also attended by local students and researchers, gave untrained people the opportunity to explore this hidden world of biodiversity and participate in the process of naming and publishing new species. Participant Lehman Ellis from the USA said it was “exciting and nice” to take part in the opening.

Entomologist and founder of Taxon Expeditions, Dr. “We introduce all these tiny, beautiful and completely unknown animals to the public and show them that there is a whole world yet to be discovered,” says Iva Nyunjic.