New Delhi, March 14 Scientists at the Zoological Survey of India have announced the discovery of two new species of lichen moths, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Saturday.
"The discovery of Caulocera Hollowayi and Asura Buxa represents a significant contribution to documenting India's moth biodiversity," the minister wrote in a post on X.
He said this success highlights the need for continued taxonomic efforts in biodiversity hotspots like the Himalayas.
The findings, published in the prestigious international taxonomic journal Zootaxa, document seven new species records of lichen from India in the same publication.
Lauding the contribution, Dhriti Banerjee, Director of the Zoological Survey of India, said, "Research into evolutionarily significant and lesser-known groups like Lepidoptera is essential for understanding ecosystem functioning and air pollution indicator species of the Indian Himalayas."
The team has identified these species – Caulocera Hollowayi, S Singh, N Singh and Bhattacharya, 2026, and Asura buxa Bhattacharya, S Singh and N Singh, 2026 – from specimens collected near Golitar, Sikkim and Panijhora, West Bengal, respectively.
"These species are distinguished by their unique arrangement of body scales, specific chaetotaxy (bristle patterns), and specialized appendage structures, as well as external morphology like wing coloration and fascia arrangements, differences in the external genitalic structures like, uncus, valva, tegumen, juxta and aedeagus.
"These moths are indicator species of air pollution," Banerjee added.