A rare new group of butterflies has been named after the villainous Sauron from the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, reports the Natural History Museum in London.
The expert group responsible for the butterflies, which includes scientist Blanca Heurtas, chose the name because the black rings on the insect’s orange wings remind them of the character described in JRR Tolkien’s books.
“Sauron triangular” and “Sauron aurigera” are the group’s first butterflies, but this isn’t the first insect named after the Lord of the Rings villain. The character’s glowing eye has already been used to name a beetle, a frog, and a dinosaur.
With this unusual name for a butterfly, the Natural History Museum in London hopes to draw attention to this new species and spark interest in research into this insect.
Source: DN
