Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: Researchers found a new moth species near the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Assam. This discovery adds the 19th species to the global Apethistis genus. Scientist Kishore Chandra Sahoo of the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute identified the insect as Apethistis minapaksha. The findings appeared in the journal Zootaxa this Monday.
The moth is small. It spans only 11 mm across the wings. Most of its body is soil brown with dark spots on the edges. Researchers missed the insect initially because of its size. It looks much like other moths until a scientist puts it under a microscope.
The male moth features a distinct fin-shaped process on its reproductive structure. Experts call this the valva. "The name reflects this feature," the report states. It comes from the Sanskrit words mana for fish and paksha for fin or wing. A. minapaksha carries a unique dorsal process that separates it from the Chinese species Apethistis dentata.
The team based their study on five male specimens collected near Mariani. One serves as the holotype and four as paratypes. Abhijith K. P. assisted with the collection while Jayanta Jyoti Sarmah served as a local guide. These specimens now sit in the ICAR-IARI reference collection in Assam.
This work increases the number of known Apethistis species in India from eight to nine. Scientists must still find the female of the species. The researchers studied wing venation and genitalia to confirm the classification. Assam remains a hotspot for undocumented insect life.
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