New species of elusive, sinister ant named after Lord Voldemort
Updated: Aug 21, 2025
Western Australian researchers Mark Wong and Jane McRae have recently described a diminutive new species of unearthly looking ant in the journal ZooKeys, naming it after the infamous Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort.
The new, ghostly looking species, Leptanilla voldemort, is a rare find in Australia, with only one other Leptanilla species, L. swani, known in Australia. This new subterranean ant species was found only after researchers collected specimens from a 25 metre deep hole in the Pilbrara region of Western Australia. The authors note that, much like its namesake, L. voldemort is slender, pale, has sharp fangs and thrives in darkness.
Leptanilla voldemort is not only notable for its unusual appearance, but also its significance to our understanding of ant evolution. A recent paper published in the journal Nature has resolved Leptanilla as a group of ants that are sister to all other ant species globally.
While the Pilbara is an economically valuable region, discoveries like these remind us that there are also incredibly valuable, globally important discoveries to be made in remote areas across Australia.
Full Article:
Leptanilla voldemort sp. nov., a gracile new species of the hypogaeic ant genus Leptanilla (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Pilbara, with a key to Australian Leptanilla
Mark K. L. Wong and Jane M. McRae
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The naming is fun, but the real significance is phylogenetic — resolving Leptanilla as sister to all other ants means a single subterranean genus in the Pilbara sits near the root of the entire ant family tree. That's a substantial finding hidden behind a joke. I came across a similar point at https://spin-lines.com/de and it made the discovery land harder.
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