Guwahati, Nov. 9 -- A tiny moth collected near Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Assam has turned out to be a species previously unknown to science, adding another entry to the biodiversity records of Northeast India.

The newly described species, Apethistis minapaksha, was collected during a field survey near Mariani. Its identification brings the number of known species in the genus to 19 worldwide.

The moth, measuring barely 11 mm across its wings, was identified as a new species by Kishore Chandra Sahoo, Scientist, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Assam. The findings were published in the latest issue of the taxonomic journal Zootaxa on Monday.

The discovery emerged from a closer examination of specimens that might ...