<figure class="fr-image-container fr-full"><img srcset="https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/28956/2965413041_2830ddbdb0-s.webp 480w, https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/28956/2965413041_2830ddbdb0-m.webp 660w" sizes="(max-width: 480px) 480px, 660px" src="https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/28956/2965413041_2830ddbdb0-s.jpg" title="2965413041_2830ddbdb0.jpg" loading="lazy" data-id="28956"><figcaption class="fr-figcaption"><p class="fr-caption"></p></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29305885/" title="">This butterfly</a> has a really funny mustache. So does this mean it looks more like <a href="http://www.h2dj.com/uclaradionews/files/borat-high-five.jpg" title="">Borat</a> or Brad Pitt? Jokes aside, when the curators at the Natural History Museum in London noticed <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29305885/" title="">a butterfly with extra hair</a> around its mouth, they took a closer look and discovered that it’s a new species. The museum’s butterfly expert, <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2009/february/moustache-helps-identify-butterfly.html" title="">Blanca Huertas</a>, originally found the specimen four years ago on an expedition to the Magdalena valleys in Colombia. When she brought it back to the U.K., it promptly got lost in the museum’s three-million-and-change butterfly collection. The good news is that she’s finally gotten around to classifying it: <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2009/february/moustache-helps-identify-butterfly.html" title="">Huertas matched</a> the butterfly to a reference species in the museum—a 90-year-old specimen known for having hairy mouthparts—and confirmed that it is a new species after all. It is now called <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29305885/" title="">Magdelena Valley Ringlet</a> (or if you want to get all scientific, it’s also called <em>Splendeuptychia ackeryl</em>). But our nickname of <a href="http://images.google.com/images?q=tom%20selleck&amp;oe=utf-8&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;um=1&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;sa=N&amp;hl=en&amp;tab=wi" title="">Tom Selleck</a> will do. Related Content: DISCOVER: <a href="/environment/littlest-butterfly" title="">Littlest Butterfly</a> DISCOVER: <a href="/technology/the-wired-butterfly" title="">The Wired Butterfly</a> The Loom: <a href="/planet-earth/darwin-meet-frankenstein" title="">Darwin, Meet Frankenstein</a></p><div class="vert-display-toggle collapsible relative flex flex-col items-center "><div class="vert-unit mt-4 mb-3 top-20"><div ad-type="mobile-desktop" class="ad-wrapper vert min-h-boombox flex items-start justify-center" data-ad-mapping="inline" data-ad-slot="Discover/inline-ad" id="div-inline-ad-0"></div></div><span aria-label="Advertisement" class="text-ad mt-1 text-[11px] uppercase">Advertisement</span></div><p><em>Image: flickr/ </em><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tom_vac/2965413041/" title="">Tom </a></p>

Discover the new butterfly species, the Magdelena Valley Ringlet, known for its unique hairy mouthparts. Learn more about this exciting find!

Planet Earth

A Butterfly’s Moustache Leads Scientists to a New Species

Article

News

Allison Bond

Science

This butterfly has a really funny mustache. So does this mean it looks more like Borat or Brad Pitt? Jokes aside, when the curators at the Natural History Museum in London noticed a butterfly with extra hair around its mouth, they took a closer look and discovered that it’s a new species. The museum’s butterfly expert, Blanca Huertas, originally found the specimen four years ago on an expedition to the Magdalena valleys in Colombia. When she brought it back to the U.K., it promptly got lost in the museum’s three-million-and-change butterfly collection. The good news is that she’s finally gotten around to classifying it: Huertas matched the butterfly to a reference species in the museum—a 90-year-old specimen known for having hairy mouthparts—and confirmed that it is a new species after all. It is now called Magdelena Valley Ringlet (or if you want to get all scientific, it’s also called Splendeuptychia ackeryl). But our nickname of Tom Selleck will do. Related Content: DISCOVER: Littlest Butterfly DISCOVER: The Wired Butterfly The Loom: Darwin, Meet Frankenstein Image: flickr/ Tom

Discover Magazine’s award-winning journalism inspires and informs, delivering thought-provoking content that sparks meaningful conversations. With a focus on groundbreaking developments in science, technology, and the world around us, Discover highlights the impact of these innovations on our daily lives.

蝴蝶的胡须引导科学家发现了一个新物种

新闻简报

Allison Bond

三种新发现的蟾蜍以奇异的进化方式产下活体幼崽

弓头鲸可活到200岁，其DNA可能蕴含长寿的秘密

切尔诺贝利的狗神秘变蓝，但辐射并非罪魁祸首

深海发现食肉死亡球海绵及其他新物种

这些吸血鬼鹿拥有三英寸长的獠牙而非鹿角来抵御对手

吸血蜘蛛痴迷于人类血液，通过扑向蚊子来饱餐一顿

最稀有的海洋动物及其他6种神秘潜伏在深海的难以捉摸的生物

冰岛首次发现蚊子，可能与气候变化有关

这些蝙蝠在紫外光下会发出绿光，但原因仍然是个谜

不再是“料理鼠王”——芝加哥鼠洞实则被一只松鼠压扁

蝠鲼潜入近4000英尺深的海洋——不是为了觅食，而是为了寻找方向

鲸鱼和海豚为何会搁浅，痴呆症是罪魁祸首吗？

狗如何看世界？它们确实能看到颜色，但更关注我们

澳大利亚海岸附近发现新的深海灯笼鲨和一种珍珠白色的螃蟹

泰国发现新的科学怪人蜘蛛，一半雄性一半雌性

保持好奇

加入我们的列表

订阅杂志