adaptations
It's rare for a biologist to predict the discovery of a new species. For his prediction, Kavanaugh drew inspiration from Darwin's own 1862 prediction. When Darwin observed an orchid from Madagascar with a foot-long nectar, he predicted that a pollinator would be found with a tongue long enough to reach the nectar inside the orchid's very thin, elongated nectar pouch, though he had never seen such a bird or insect. Darwin's prediction was based on his finding that all species are related to each other and that some of them evolve together, developing similar adaptations . Darwin's prediction came true in 1903, when a moth was discovered in Madagascar with a long, thin proboscis, which it uncurls to reach the nectar in the orchid's nectar. In the process of feeding from the orchid, the moth serves as its pollinator. The moth was given the scientific name Xanthopan morganii praedicta , in honor of Darwins prediction.