ZIRO, Aug 30: A group of researchers have found two species of moth in August 2019 at Tale Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. Each one of the two species has potential to transform human knowledge about moths and butterflies.
Metallophia taleensis, a new species, has been described for the first time. It has been named after Tale Wildlife Sanctuary. Metallolphia taleensis can be distinguished from other species by presence of prominent black-edged oval green spot on upper side forewing and smaller spot on hindwing. Metallopjoa opalina, which was not seen in India for almost 100 years, has been rediscovered in Tale. It was last seen in Sikkim and Nepal in 1890s. The findings have been reported in a paper published in August 2020 in Zootaxa, an international journal of repute. Both the species belong to the genus Metallolphia, of which 16 known species are found across the world and 3 known species are known to occur in India. Earlier, in 2017, another moth species, Apatani Glory (Elcysma ziroensis), was found in Tale.
The discovery of moth species has generated a lot of interest among wildlife enthusiasts. These discoveries point to the fact that there is a lot left to be discovered in the wild in Arunachal Pradesh in general and Tale wildlife sanctuary in particular. We need to preserve and study habitats such as Tale Wildlife sanctuary, which are a treasure trove of biodiversity. DIPRO

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
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