Discovery of new moth genus in Kerala’s Idukki highlights Western Ghats’ hidden biodiversity

A team of researchers has discovered a new genus and species of tiger moth from the southern Western Ghats.

Published in the internationally renowned, peer-reviewed Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society, the new species has been named Antaram idukki. Belonging to the tiger moth subfamily Arctiinae (Erebidae), the species was discovered in Kerala’s Idukki district.

Antaram idukki
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The study was carried out by an international collaborative team comprising scientists and naturalists, including Aparna Sureshchandra Kalawate of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Western Regional Centre, Pune; Alberto Zilli, former senior curator of Lepidoptera at the Natural History Museum, London; Muhamed Jafer Palot of the ZSI, Western Ghats Regional Centre, Kozhikode; and Balakrishnan Valappil, a moth enthusiast and naturalist.

Researchers said the discovery was particularly significant because descriptions of entirely new genera indicate the presence of previously unknown evolutionary lineages. “Descriptions of new genera are relatively rare, especially in the subfamily Arctiinae. This subfamily usually comprises larger moths. The new genus, Antaram (a Sanskrit word meaning ‘difference’), is currently known only from Idukki and is distinguished from related genera by a unique combination of external and genital morphological characters,” they said.

According to the research team, the newly discovered genus appears to be extremely rare, and its larval host plant and life history remain unknown. Habitat degradation and vegetation changes may threaten its survival before its biology is fully understood, they warned.

Moths, the closest relatives of butterflies, belong to the order Lepidoptera. They are highly diverse insects that play key ecological roles as pollinators and as a major food source for many animals.

The discovery, according to researchers, highlights India’s still poorly known insect diversity and shows that entirely new evolutionary lineages continue to be found in biodiversity-rich regions such as the Western Ghats. It also underscores the often-overlooked importance of insects and other invertebrates to ecosystem functioning.

They said Idukki, in the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the eight “hottest hotspots” of biological diversity, was facing growing pressures from unregulated tourism, habitat degradation, land-use change, and human-wildlife conflict despite its ecological significance.

“The discovery highlights the Western Ghats’ undocumented biodiversity and the need to protect these ecosystems and their still-unknown species,” researchers added.