A researcher noticed an “impossible” detail in the background of a photo published on social media: this is how the
Colombian Victoria
a giant water lily already at risk of extinction.
Sometimes a scientific discovery can hide in the most unexpected places: in this case in an Instagram feed. A group of botanists, analyzing a shot shared on the social network, has identified a new species of giant water lily in Colombia. Renamed Colombian Victoriathe plant was described in a study published in the journal Phytotaxa.
A clue on the smartphone screen
It all dates back to 2021, when the owner of a carnivorous plant nursery in the United States posted a selfie of himself next to a giant water lily in the Inírida region of eastern Colombia.
When the image appeared on the screen of a researcher at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in the UK, he realized something wasn’t right. That specific river area, in fact, did not fall within the known natural range of that species. Suspecting that it was a new species of water lily, the researcher cross-referenced the coordinates with satellite images.
The shipment
It took almost two years of team work to confirm the hypothesis. The researcher coordinated a five-day expedition to the Inírida region together with the Botanical Garden of Bogotá and several members of the local indigenous communities.
The research proved complex. After days of scouting, the group had identified only two specimens, neither of which were flowering: an essential element to be able to collect a fertile sample and scientifically distinguish the new species from those already known.
The classification
At the end of the expedition, however, the researchers managed to find a second group of water lilies with one specimen in flower. In total, seven specimens were identified spread over two lakes.
As well as describing Colombian Victoriascholars have proposed to also consider the Victoria mattogrossensisleading to the total number of known species belonging to this botanical genus is five.
A species already at risk of extinction
The future of Colombian Victoriahowever, And uncertain. Experts estimate that they survive in the wild just between 30 and 50 specimens, which is why the formal request for classification as a species will be presented “critically endangered“ at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
