Cigaritis Meghamalaiensis

03-01-2024

Cigaritis Meghamalaiensis

Why in the news?

 A new species of Silverline butterfly Cigaritis meghamalaiensis has been discovered at the Meghamalai hills in the Periyar landscape of southern Western Ghats.

About Cigaritis meghamalaiensis:

• It is the new species of butterfly.
• It has become the first butterfly species to be described from the Western Ghats in 33 years.
• The researchers had first come across the distinct species belonging to the Cigaritis genus in the high elevations of Periyar in Idukki in 2018.
• Further explorations have revealed the species to be confined to the Meghamalais and the adjoining Periyar Tiger Reserve.
• There are seven species of Cigaritisin the Western Ghats, viz., C. vulcanus, C. schistacea, C. ictis, C. elima elima, C. lohita lazularia, C. lilacinus, and C. abnormis. Of these, all except C. lilacinus have been reported from the southern Western Ghats.

Key facts about Periyar Tiger Reserve

• It is located in the Western Ghats of Kerala.
• It gets its name from the River Periyar, which has its origin deep inside the reserve.
• Two main rivers, Pamba and Periyar, drain the reserve.
• It is home to many tribal communities, including the Mannans and the Palians.
• Vegetation: It consists of tropical evergreen, semi-evergreen and moist deciduous.
• Flora: Teak, mangoes, rosewood, jamun, jacarandas, terminalias, tamarind, royal ponciana, bamboos etc.
• Fauna: Includes Elephants, Wild Pigs, Sambar, Gaur, Mouse Deer, Dole or Barking Deer, Indian Wild Dog and Tiger etc.

About The Western Ghats

• The subduction of the Arabian basin and the tilting of the peninsula in the east and northeast during the Himalayan uplift generated the Western Ghats.
• The Western Ghats are a 1600 km long mountain chain along the west coast of India running from the river Tapi in the north to Kanyakumari in the south.
• They pass through States  of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu (6 in number). They are known by various regional names like Sahyadri, Nilgiris etc.
• Western Ghats have a  tropical humid climate .The western side of the Ghat receives more rainfall than the eastern side due to windward effect.
• Western Ghats was declared as a world heritage site in 2012 by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
• It spans all the way from Tapi Valley to Kanyakumari. It is known as Sahyadri till 11° N.
• It is divided into three pieces.

1)Northern Western Ghats

2)Middle Sahyadri(Central Western Ghats)

3)Southern Western Ghats

Source: The Hindu