University
of Florida researcher Andrew Warren displays the holotype specimen of a new
genus and species of skipper butterfly from Jamaica in the Florida Museum of
Natural. Photo by Jeff Gage.
Skipper
butterfly is new species
December 2012. Belonging to the family of skipper butterflies, the new genus and species is the first butterfly discovered in Jamaica since 1995. Scientists hope the native butterfly will encourage conservation of the country's last wilderness where it was discovered: the Cockpit Country. This discovery underscores the need for further biodiversity research and establishing a baseline of organisms as more tropical areas suffer habitat destruction.
December 2012. Belonging to the family of skipper butterflies, the new genus and species is the first butterfly discovered in Jamaica since 1995. Scientists hope the native butterfly will encourage conservation of the country's last wilderness where it was discovered: the Cockpit Country. This discovery underscores the need for further biodiversity research and establishing a baseline of organisms as more tropical areas suffer habitat destruction.
University
of Florida scientists have co-authored the study describing a new Lepidoptera
species found in Jamaica's last remaining wilderness.
"My
co-authors on this paper, Vaughn Turland and Delano Lewis, are really excited
because they think this butterfly has the potential to be a new sort of
flagship species for Jamaican habitat conservation, because it's a black and
gold butterfly living in a green habitat, which together comprise the Jamaican
national colours," said study co-author Andy Warren, senior collections
manager at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida
Museum of Natural History. "Whether or not a tiny little butterfly is
going to attract the type of conservation interest that the giant Homerus
Swallowtail in Jamaica has remains to be seen."
Very
small butterfly
With a wingspan of little more than 1 centimetre, Troyus turneri is about the size of a thumbnail with its wings spread, Warren said. The genus was named Troyus for the town of Troy, which is nearest to the region of the Cockpit Country where it was collected, and the species was named for Thomas Turner, an expert on Jamaica butterflies who contributed to its discovery.
With a wingspan of little more than 1 centimetre, Troyus turneri is about the size of a thumbnail with its wings spread, Warren said. The genus was named Troyus for the town of Troy, which is nearest to the region of the Cockpit Country where it was collected, and the species was named for Thomas Turner, an expert on Jamaica butterflies who contributed to its discovery.
Surprising
discovery
Jamaica is considered one of the most thoroughly researched areas for butterflies in the Greater Antilles, which includes Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Until the discovery of T. turneri, researchers believed they knew all the butterflies in Jamaica, Warren said. The butterfly likely remained undiscovered for so long due to the inaccessible nature of the Cockpit Country, a 247-mile mostly undeveloped tangle of tropical vegetation. The species was described based on one male and one female specimen, collected in 2011 and 2012 within a quarter mile of each another.
Jamaica is considered one of the most thoroughly researched areas for butterflies in the Greater Antilles, which includes Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Until the discovery of T. turneri, researchers believed they knew all the butterflies in Jamaica, Warren said. The butterfly likely remained undiscovered for so long due to the inaccessible nature of the Cockpit Country, a 247-mile mostly undeveloped tangle of tropical vegetation. The species was described based on one male and one female specimen, collected in 2011 and 2012 within a quarter mile of each another.
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