Eye of Sauron: a butterfly named in honor of The Lord of the Rings

Named in honor of the series’ villain, the Natural History Museum in London said a new species of butterfly whose orange wing pattern is reminiscent of Sauron’s eye in The Lord of the Rings.

“You can’t walk in Mordor – but you can name butterflies after your captain!” London’s Natural History Museum tweeted on Sunday, referring to a quote from Boromir’s character in the series.

The new group of butterflies, whose orange, white and black wings recall the fearsome eye of Sauron’s rule over Mordor, has been named ‘Saurona’ in honor of the villain from JRR Tolkien’s fantasy series, The Independent reported Sunday.

A huge concession to the scientists who were able to choose the name for the group, which already includes two subspecies, Saurona triangula and Saurona aurigera. In total, more than 400 species have been analysed, thanks in particular to the collection of 5.5 million butterflies belonging to the museum.

“Naming a species isn’t something that happens often, and it’s rare to be able to name two species at the same time. […] Giving these butterflies an unusual name helps bring attention to this underappreciated group, Dr. Blanca Huertas, curator of butterflies at the Natural History Museum, told English media.

If these were the first butterflies named in honor of the series, the Eye of Sauron has already inspired the name of a beetle, a frog and even a dinosaur, British media added.