Sajan KC
Sajan KC | |
|---|---|
| Education | Tribhuvan University; Eastern New Mexico University (M.S., 2023) |
| Known for | Taxonomy of Hemipeplinae; butterfly fauna of Nepal |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Entomology, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera |
Sajan KC is a Nepalese entomologist. His research focuses on the taxonomy of beetles and butterflies across South Asia, particularly the Himalayas, and the Americas. He is best known for a monographic revision of the beetle subfamily Hemipeplinae and for extensive contributions to documenting butterfly diversity in Nepal. He has also written fiction in both English and Nepali.
Early life and education
[edit]KC is from Pokhara, Kaski District, Nepal.[1] He completed his undergraduate studies at Tribhuvan University and earned a Master of Science in biology at Eastern New Mexico University in 2023, under the supervision of entomologist Darren Pollock.[2][3] He is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida.[4]
Research
[edit]Hemipeplinae
[edit]KC's taxonomic contribution is a comprehensive world revision of the subfamily Hemipeplinae (family Mycteridae), co-authored with Darren A. Pollock and published in Zootaxa in 2025. The monograph described twenty-nine new species and constitutes a thorough treatment of the group.[5] Two species were named in reference to the television series Breaking Bad, which is set in New Mexico: Hemipeplus heisenbergi and the Malaysian Hemipeplus saymyname.[3]
Butterfly fauna of Nepal
[edit]KC has published extensively on the butterflies of Nepal, contributing new distribution records, checklists, and faunal assessments across multiple families. In 2022 he co-authored a paper documenting seven species new to Nepal[6] and contributed to the Annotated Catalogue of the Butterflies of Nepal.[7] He has also examined butterfly diversity in rapidly urbanising habitats in Pokhara[8] and documented species richness and seasonal variation in the Central Himalayas.[9]
During fieldwork in eastern Nepal in September 2021, KC collected specimens of the skipper Halpe aucma — a species previously recorded only from northeastern India — establishing it as a new country record for Nepal. Morphological examination of male genitalia distinguished the specimens from the closely related Halpe filda and Halpe molta.[10]
Giant skippers and Aegiale
[edit]KC has contributed to the study of giant skippers (tribe Megathymini). In 2024, he and Sapkota reported the first Texas record of the Mexican-M hairstreak Parrhasius moctezuma and a possible U.S. sighting of the tequila giant skipper Aegiale hesperiaris.[11] In 2026, KC and colleagues described a new species in the genus Aegiale C. Felder & R. Felder, 1860, from Sonora, Mexico.[12] Follow-up fieldwork in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and New Mexico, supported by a Florida Museum of Natural History student travel award, was conducted in late 2025.[4]
Books
[edit]Fiction
[edit]KC has written two novels: After Love, in English, and Phitkiri, in Nepali.[1] In 2021, KC was among 22 writers recognized in Baahrakhari Media's "Best Stories 2078" (उत्कृष्ट कथा–२०७८) selection, part of the third Dish Home 12Khari story writing competition.[13][14]
Selected publications
[edit]Beetles
[edit]- KC, S.; Pollock, D.A. (2025). "Review of the Hemipeplinae (Coleoptera: Mycteridae) fauna of the world with descriptions of twenty-nine new species". Zootaxa. 5574 (1): 1–140. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5574.1.1. PMID 40173889.
Butterflies
[edit]- van der Poel, P.; Smetacek, P.; Colin, S.; et al. (2022). An Annotated Catalogue of the Butterflies of Nepal. Bionotes: Occasional Paper 1. pp. vii + 241.
- KC, S.; Sapkota, A. (2022). "Additional distribution records of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) with seven species new to Nepal". Biodiversitas. 23 (5): 2711–2738. doi:10.13057/biodiv/d230555.
- KC, S.; Sapkota, A. (2024). "Butterfly Diversity and Community Dynamics in the Central Himalayas: Species Composition, Richness, Abundance, and Seasonal Variation of Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea)". Ecology and Evolution. 14 (12) e70612. doi:10.1002/ece3.70612. PMC 11650754. PMID 39691430.
- KC, S. (2025). "An Untapped and Undocumented Butterfly Diversity in a Rapidly Urbanizing and Fragmenting Forest Habitat in Pokhara, Nepal: First Checklist and Implications for Conservation". Ecology and Evolution. 15 (8) e71937. doi:10.1002/ece3.71937. PMC 12361351. PMID 40837529.
- KC, S.; Sapkota, A. (2025). "Butterfly Fauna of Central Panama During an El Niño Period: Preliminary Insights on Diversity Patterns". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 2025 2097097. doi:10.1155/psyc/2097097.
- KC, S.; et al. (2026). "A new species of Tequila Giant Skipper Aegiale C. Felder & R. Felder, 1860 (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae, Megathymina) from Sonora, Mexico". ZooKeys (1272): 157–171. Bibcode:2026ZooK.1272..157K. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1272.181963. PMC 12983079. PMID 41837207.
Citizen science
[edit]- KC, S.; Sapkota, A. (2025). "Can gamification save the planet? Revolutionizing citizen science for biodiversity conservation". Biological Conservation. 302 111001. Bibcode:2025BCons.30211001K. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111001.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Bhadgaule, Amrit (June 14, 2020). "लकडाउनले रोकिएन पुतलीको अध्ययन" [Lockdown did not stop the butterfly study]. Nagarik News (in Nepali). Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- ↑ Winfield, Zoe (July 26, 2023). "Sajan KC Shares his Passion of Lepidopterology". Eastern New Mexico University News. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- 1 2 Ortega, Sarah (March 31, 2025). "Bugging Bad: Sajan KC's Continued Work on Entomological Research". Eastern New Mexico University News. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- 1 2 KC, Sajan; Sapkota, Anisha (October 27, 2025). "Exploring the Giant Skippers: Agathymus Survey in the Chihuahuan Desert (NM and TX)". Florida Museum of Natural History. University of Florida. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- ↑ KC, S.; Pollock, D.A. (2025). "Review of the Hemipeplinae (Coleoptera: Mycteridae) fauna of the world with descriptions of twenty-nine new species". Zootaxa. 5574 (1): 1–140. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5574.1.1. PMID 40173889.
- ↑ Sajan, KC; Sapkota, A. (2022). "Additional distribution records of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) with seven species new to Nepal". Biodiversitas. 23 (5): 2711–2738.
- ↑ van der Poel, P.; Smetacek, P.; Colin, S.; et al. (2022). An Annotated Catalogue of the Butterflies of Nepal. Bionotes: Occasional Paper 1. pp. vii + 241.
- ↑ KC, S. (2025). "An Untapped and Undocumented Butterfly Diversity in a Rapidly Urbanizing and Fragmenting Forest Habitat in Pokhara, Nepal: First Checklist and Implications for Conservation". Ecology and Evolution. 15 (8) e71937. doi:10.1002/ece3.71937. PMC 12361351. PMID 40837529.
- ↑ KC, S.; Sapkota, A. (2024). "Butterfly Diversity and Community Dynamics in the Central Himalayas: Species Composition, Richness, Abundance, and Seasonal Variation of Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea)". Ecology and Evolution. 14 (12) e70612. doi:10.1002/ece3.70612. PMC 11650754. PMID 39691430.
- ↑ Pokharel, Gobinda (December 26, 2021). "नेपालमा भेटियो 'सुनौलो एक्का'" [Gold-Spotted Ace Found in Nepal]. Kantipur (in Nepali). Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- ↑ KC, S.; Sapkota, A. (2024). "First record of the Mexican-M hairstreak Parrhasius moctezuma (Clench, 1971) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in Texas, USA, and possible sighting of the tequila giant skipper Aegiale hesperiaris (Walker, 1856) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)". Insecta Mundi. 1084: 1–6.
- ↑ KC, S.; et al. (2026). "A new species of Tequila Giant Skipper Aegiale C. Felder & R. Felder, 1860 (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae, Megathymina) from Sonora, Mexico". ZooKeys (1272): 157–171. Bibcode:2026ZooK.1272..157K. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1272.181963. PMC 12983079. PMID 41837207.
- ↑ "कथा लेखनमा न्यौपाने पहिलो". Ekantipur (Kantipur) (in Nepali). 19 November 2021.
- ↑ "डिशहोम बाह्रखरी कथाः 'अन्तिम अतिथि' शीर्षकको कथा प्रथम". Nepal Press (in Nepali). 20 November 2021.