Six New Species of Eucalantica Micro-Moths Discovered
Posted on July 19, 2011
Six new species of Eucalantica micro-moths have been discovered. Five of the new moth species reside in Costa Rica and the sixth can be found in the southern U.S. and Mexico. The Eucalantica genus belongs to the micro-moth group, Yponomeutidae.
The researchers say the discovery demonstrates our lack of knowledge about the real diversity of life on Earth. According to some estimates, less than 20% of extant species are described. Thousands of species become extinct every year before they are discovered and named.
The new species are described by Mr. Jae-Cheon Sohn from the University of Maryland, College Park, USA and Mr. Kenji Nishida from Universidad de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica in an article published in Zookeys.