Global News - October 2007

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New species of butterfly discovered

Fri 26 October 2007 15:15 UK — South America,Other

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A new species of owl butterfly has been discovered in Mexico by US researchers.

George Austin and Andrew Warren, researchers from the University of Florida, discovered the new owl butterfly earlier this year. They said that the finding was significant because it was the first butterfly from this group to be named in more than 100 years.

They added that the new butterfly was large and colourful, in contrast to most that have been identified in recent years.

"It is extraordinarily uncommon for such a large, showy butterfly to have escaped detection until now," explained Mr Warren.

"This probably will be one of the last times such a large and beautiful butterfly is named."

The researchers and Florida's Museum of Natural History realised that the discovery presented a unique opportunity to generate funds for further research into new butterflies.

As a result, they decided to auction off the naming rights for the butterfly online.

"We realised this striking discovery represents an exceptional opportunity to raise funds for continued research on Mexican butterflies, by allowing rights to the species-level name to be auctioned," Mr Austin added.

In total, there are around 20 known species of owl butterfly. Most are found in the rainforests and secondary forests of Central and South America.

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