NINE NEW EMPEROR MOTH SPECIES

GS 3: BIODIVERSITY

THE CONTEXT: The latest zoological finds include nine new emperor moth species discovered in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

 EXPLANATION:

• It includes the Mishmi moon moth (Actias smetaceki) from Arunachal Pradesh and the Shan moon moth (Actias loeffleri) from northern Myanmar. Their name has been derived from a moon on each of its wings.
• The largest of the 11 moths recorded with a wingspan of 13.6 cm is Loepa himalayana found in Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet.
• Out of more than 1,300 known species of moths belonging to the Saturniidae family, including the emperor moths, some 100 are from India.
• A new frog recorded from Namdapha in Arunachal Pradesh is Alcalus fontinalis thus named because of small streams or brooks where it was found in May 2022.
• According to the researchers, frogs of the Alcalus genus found in the Philippines and Thailand were hitherto unknown in India.
• Arunachal Pradesh also yielded the Alycaeus himalayae, a snail found in a small limestone cave in the East Siang district.
• The researchers said it is the only Aycaeus species inhabiting the Himalayas.
• Another new species of snail, Cycloryx pemaledai, was reported from Sikkim.

Source: New species of small life forms recorded from northeast – The Hindu