Butterfly species named after Sauron

As reported by the Natural History Museum in London:

Scientists have paid homage to an eye-conic villain from the Lord of the Rings in the name of a group of butterflies.

The Eye of Sauron is a well-known symbol from the Lord of the Rings, and was famously depicted on screen as a fiery orange eye peering over the landscape of Middle Earth.

So when a group of butterflies with bright orange hindwings and dark eyespots needed redescribing, researchers wasted no time in honouring the work of J.R.R. Tolkien in the name of a new genus.

Saurona is one of several new butterfly genera described by an international team of researchers in a new paper, and one of two named by Dr Blanca Huertas, the Senior Curator of Butterflies at the Museum.

‘Giving these butterflies an unusual name helps to draw attention to this underappreciated group,’ Blanca says. ‘It shows that, even among a group of very similar-looking species, you can find beauty among the dullness.’