Fluttering, frost-loving creature first photographed in 2017 is new species, study says

A new species of butterfly that only inhabits small swaths of land in Australia was just discovered, researchers said.

The spotted trident-blue butterfly, or officially, Cyprotides maculosus, was found near Canberra, according to an April 19 statement from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), a government agency.

“Finding a new species of butterfly, especially one so close to the capital city of Canberra, is like finding a new species of meat-eating dinosaur – it doesn’t happen every day,” Michael Braby, an associate professor at Australian National University, told CSIRO.

The butterfly, which has white wings with black spots, was first photographed in 2017, but has just recently been identified as a distinct species, according to a statement from the Invasive Species Council.

It only dwells in areas around Canberra, located in the southeast corner of the continent, including several national parks, and “adjacent areas of New South Wales,” according to CSIRO and the Invasive Species Council.

It’s also only found about 3,600 to 5,000 feet above sea level, according to a study of the butterfly’s genus published in April in the journal Austral Entomology.

In addition, the fluttering creature has a preference for frost hollows, which are valleys full of cool air, the council said.

The low temperature “keeps these areas open and grassy, full of the native flowering plants spotted trident-blue butterflies need to feed and lay eggs on,” the council said.

The insect is the first new species of butterfly to be discovered in Australia in eight years, making it a “significant” discovery, Braby told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“We were thinking ‘why on earth has this thing been overlooked for so long? Why has it taken so long for people to discover this?’ and we suspect it’s a combination of the fact that it flies fairly early in the year and it’s in this very specialized habitat,” he told the outlet, adding, “It’s not the sort of the place you’d really go to look for butterflies.”

There are more than 17,000 species of butterflies worldwide, according to the Smithsonian Institution.