New Primitive Moth FAMILY Discovered in Australia
It’s pretty cool when a new insect species is discovered. It’s even more exciting when scientists find a new genus. But a new family? That’s pretty amazing and doesn’t happen very often.
But it did recently, on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. This is the first time since the 1970s that a new family of primitive moth has been identified anywhere in the world.
This new moth family is called Aenigmatineidae. It is only known to contain a single genus (Aenigmatinea) and a single species called Aenigmatinea glatzella. Details of the discovery were published in the journal Systematic Entomology.
The moth – also known as the enigma moth – is covered in scales that appear gold and purple, and the edges of their wings have feathery fringes.
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Wow. This is outstanding news. An actual “family” was discovered. Very rare indeed. Also, the specimen pictured is gorgeous. Love the feathered wings. Thank you for sharing the info!