‘Rimmed with fire’: rare butterfly genus named after Sauron in Lord of the Rings

Newly discovered species with vivid orange and black markings named for evil ruler of Mordor to pique interest in conservation

Researchers have uncovered a new genus of butterfly, with distinctive orange wings and dark eyespots. It is a striking appearance that has led the international team to label the genus Saurona, after Sauron, the evil lord of Mordor whose all-seeing fiery eye brought terror to Middle-earth and the Shires in The Lord of the Rings.

It is an intriguing monicker. As JRR Tolkien describes it: The Eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow as a cat's, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on a pit, a window into nothing."