Overview
- The species Euthalia zubeengargi, reported Saturday by multiple outlets, is formally described in the journal Entomon and named in tribute to the Assamese singer Zubeen Garg.
- Researchers documented only two males during surveys, one collected and one photographed, which points to either extreme rarity or difficulty spotting the insect in dense forest.
- Field notes place the butterfly in semi-evergreen forests at roughly 600–750 metres, where it rests in cool shade, feeds on tree sap, and takes minerals from moist ground near streams.
- Morphology confirmed it as a distinct Euthalia species, with olive-brown wings marked by white patterns and a faint sheen, and the team proposed the common name Basar Duke.
- The 2025 fieldwork by Roshan Upadhaya of RIMT University and Kalesh Sadasivan of the Travancore Natural History Society highlights how naming a species for a cultural figure can spur interest in conservation across the Eastern Himalaya.