The researchers documented two new species in the Saurona genus, named Saurona triangula and Saurona aurigera. “This paper takes a very difficult and large group of butterflies, and they just amassed an immense amount of DNA information over the years and just brought it all together. “What this paper shows is that there are just hundreds and hundreds of species that we don’t know yet, that haven’t been named,” said Robert Robbins, research entomologist and curator of lepidoptera at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, who wasn’t involved in the study. The researchers’ findings highlight the vastness of Earth’s biodiversity that scientists have yet to document. “It was a great privilege to do so,” Huertas added, “and now means that we can start describing new species that we have uncovered as a result of this research.” Willmott, associate curator of lepidoptera and biodiversity at the Florida Museum of Natural History - named genera Saurona and Argentaria, which translates to “silver mine,” because of the latter’s silver scales on its wings. Blanca Huertas, senior curator of lepidoptera at the Natural History Museum in London, said in a news release. “Naming a genus is not something that happens very often, and it’s even more rare to be able to name two at once,” study coauthor Dr. The Eye of Sauron glows in the 2001 film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." Maximum Film/Alamy Stock Photo
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