''Metacrias'' is a genus of

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s in the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family (biology), family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwin ...

. All species are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Taxonomy

''Metacrias'' was first described by

Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854 – 31 March 1938) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern microlepidoptera systematics. Life and work Ed ...

in a paper in the journal ''Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales'' published in 1887. It has been postulated that this genus may be cogeneric with '' Phaos'', an Australian genus.

Species

*'' Metacrias erichrysa'' Meyrick, 1886 *''

Metacrias huttoni ''Metacrias huttoni'', known as the Alpine tiger or Alpine tiger moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand, where it is known from the eastern areas of the South Island. The female of the species ...

'' Butler, 1879 *'' Metacrias strategica'' (Hudson, 1889)

References

Spilosomina Moth genera Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Endemic moths of New Zealand {{Spilosomina-stub