''Agathiphaga'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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, known as kauri moths, and is the only living genus in the family Agathiphagidae. This

caddisfly The caddisflies (order Trichoptera) are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the basis ...

-like lineage of primitive moths was first reported by

Lionel Jack Dumbleton Lionel Jack Dumbleton (1905 – 25 September 1976) was a New Zealand entomologist. He was born in Hampden, New Zealand and was a founding member of the Entomological Society of New Zealand. Dumbleton was one of the entomologists studying inse ...

in 1952, as a new

Micropterigidae Micropterigoidea is the superfamily of "mandibulate archaic moths", all placed in the single family Micropterigidae, containing currently about twenty living genera. They are considered the most primitive extant lineage of lepidoptera (Kristense ...

. The caterpillars feed only on "kauri" (''

Agathis ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside ''Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

'') and are currently considered the second most primitive living lineage of moths after

Micropterigoidea Micropterigoidea is the superfamily of "mandibulate archaic moths", all placed in the single family Micropterigidae, containing currently about twenty living genera. They are considered the most primitive extant lineage of lepidoptera (Kristense ...

. The

larvae A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...

have been reported to be able to survive for 12 years in

diapause In animal dormancy, diapause is the delay in development in response to regular and recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions.Tauber, M.J., Tauber, C.A., Masaki, S. (1986) ''Seasonal Adaptations of Insects''. Oxford University Press It ...

, durability possibly a prerequisite to its possible dispersion around the Pacific islands in the seeds of ''Agathis''. Dumbleton described two species. ''

Agathiphaga queenslandensis ''Agathiphaga queenslandensis'' is a moth of the family Agathiphagidae. It is found along the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. The wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip ...

'' is found along the north-eastern coast of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and its larvae feed on ''

Agathis robusta ''Agathis robusta'', commonly known as Queensland kauri (pine), kauri pine or smooth-barked kauri, is a coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae. It has a disjunct distribution, occurring in Papua New Guinea and in two widely separated loca ...

''. ''

Agathiphaga vitiensis ''Agathiphaga vitiensis'', or the Fiji kauri moth, is a moth of the family Agathiphagidae. It is found from Fiji to Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. Description The length of the forewings is about 4 mm. The larvae feed on '' Agathis vitiens ...

'' is found from

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

, and its larvae feed on ''

Agathis vitiensis ''Agathis macrophylla'' known as Pacific kauri, is a coniferous tree native to the islands of the southwestern Pacific Ocean in tropical humid lowlands and lower montane regions, notably in Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Santa Cruz Islands. The Pacific k ...

''. A fossil member of Agathiphagidae, '' Agathiphagama,'' is known from the

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. Th ...

of Myanmar, dating to the early

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy's (ICS) geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Cretace ...

stage of the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...

, approximately 99 million years ago.''''

References

External links

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Agathiphagidae

Tree of Life Web Project The Tree of Life Web Project (ToL) is an Internet project providing information about the diversity and phylogeny of life on Earth. This collaborative peer reviewed project began in 1995, and is written by biologists from around the world. The s ...

* Moth genera Taxa named by Lionel Jack Dumbleton {{moth-stub