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Scientists have discovered a multitude of species of nocturnal moths from Europe until then unknown.
The researchers found a total of 44 new species belonging to the "butterfly" family, half of which were European.
The last time that many butterflies were identified in Europe, it was in 1887.
Peter Huemer, from the State Museum of Tyrol in Austria, and his Danish colleague Ole Karsholt of the Zoological Museum of the University of Copenhagen, wrote in the journal ZooKeys: "The extent of newly discovered butterflies" in one of the most studied regions of the Earth is both sensational and complete. unexpected.
"Despite the dramatic decline of many insect populations, our fundamental research on species diversity is still far from complete."
The search began when the team spotted what appeared to be an unclassifiable twirling butterfly in the South Tyrolean Alps in Austria.
To confirm that it was a new species, the scientists conducted a five-year study on similar specimens from around the world and kept in museum collections in Paris, London and Budapest .
DNA fingerprinting combined with standard methods of staining, staining and anatomical features revealed that many of them were also new species.
All new butterflies belong to the genus Megacraspedus, or to the family of large spiral butterflies.
Insects of the genus have unusually short wings with a wingspan of between eight and 26 millimeters. Females are often unable to fly.
Scientists believe that butterflies are adapted to turbulent winds in the mountainous regions where they live.
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