SYDNEY, March 22 (Xinhua) -- A researcher from the University of Queensland has recently made a surprising discovery of a new fluffy beetle while taking a field trip in an Australian rainforest.

"I was walking through the campsite at Binna Burra Lodge one morning and something on a Lomandra leaf caught my eye," School of the Environment PhD Candidate James Tweed revealed in a statement on Thursday, who almost mistook the beetle for bird droppings.

To his amazement, Tweed located "the most extraordinary and fluffiest longhorn beetle" he had ever seen. "Measuring 9.7 millimeters, it was a striking red and black beauty covered in long white hairs," he described.

According to his findings published in the Australian Journal of Taxonomy, the freshly named Excastra albopilosa is distinguished from all known Australian Lamiinae genera by a series of characters, such as its completely separated eye lobes and absence of apical carina on the scape.

"We chose the name Excastra for the genus, which is Latin for 'from the camp,' and for the species name, we decided on albopilosa which translates to 'white and hairy,'" Tweed said.

At the current stage, Tweed and his research team have yet to confirm the specific function of those short and white setae. However, they established a primary theory that the hairs make the insect look as if it has been killed by a fungus.

"This would possibly deter predators such as birds from eating it, but until someone can find more specimens and study this species further, we won't be able to say for sure why this beetle is so hairy," said Tweed.

Binna Burra Lodge, the location where the beetle was discovered, is positioned approximately 800 meters above sea level amid the sub-tropical rainforest of Woonoongoora -- Lamington National Park in the Gold Coast Hinterland. Over the past century, scholars and insect enthusiasts have been flocking to the park for entomological research.

In Tweed's eyes, chance discoveries highlight how many unknown species could be out there and how many of those could be under threat of extinction.

"Best estimates suggest there may be 5.5 million insect species worldwide and only one-fifth of these have been named and described," said the expert.

"We're experiencing rapid declines in biodiversity globally, and it's difficult to conserve species if we don't even know they exist," he added. Enditem

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