''Ethmiopsis'' 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 ...
of the
twirler moth family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
(Gelechiidae). Among these, it was previously assigned to
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...
Pexicopiinae, but later moved to the
Chelariini
Anacampsinae is a subfamily of moths in the family Gelechiidae.
Taxonomy and systematics
*Anacampsini Bruand, 1850
**'' Anacampsis'' Curtis, 1827
**''Aproaerema'' Durrant, 1897
**'' Battaristis'' Meyrick, 1914
**'' Chaliniastis'' Meyrick, 1904
...
tribe.
Species
Species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of ''Ethmiopsis'' are:
* ''
Ethmiopsis aganactes''
(Meyrick, 1935)
* ''
Ethmiopsis catarina''
(Ponomarenko, 1994)
* ''
Ethmiopsis epichthonia''
(Meyrick in Caradja & Meyrick, 1935)
* ''
Ethmiopsis heppneri''
(Park, 1995)
* ''
Ethmiopsis melaina''
(Clarke, 1986)
* ''
Ethmiopsis prosectrix''
Meyrick in Caradja & Meyrick, 1935
* ''
Ethmiopsis scriniata''
(Meyrick, 1913)
* ''
Ethmiopsis subtegulifera''
(Ponomarenko, 1994)
* ''
Ethmiopsis tegulifera''
(Meyrick, 1932)
Taxonomy
At least some of these moths are characterized by a short
scape and a triangular tuft of short hairs on the tip of the second
labial palp
Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the secondary pair of forward appendages among chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicera ...
segment. These traits are shared by the enigmatic ''
Chelophoba melaina'', and Clarke stated that it might be warranted to include this (or even all of ''Chelophoba'') in ''Ethmiopsis''. Ponomarenko eventually treated ''Chelophoba'' as a synonym of ''Ethmiopsis'' in 1997.
The species formerly placed in ''Chelophoba'' are widely
allopatric
Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...
, with ''C. aganactes'' occurring in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and ''C. melaina'' only known from
Fatu Hiva
Fatu-Hiva (the "H" is not pronounced, see name section below) is the southernmost island of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. With Motu Nao as its closest neighbour, it is also the ...
in the
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan language, Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan language, North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan language, South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcano, volcanic islands in ...
of
Polynesia
Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
. The latter species was thought to actually be more closely related to some twirler moths usually placed in ''
Hypatima
''Hypatima'' is a genus of the twirler moth family (biology), family (Gelechiidae). Among these, it belongs to a distinct lineage, which is variously treated as tribe (biology), tribe Chelariini in subfamilies Dichomeridinae (like done here), Gel ...
''. At the time of description, it was unknown whether ''Chelophoba'' was
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
and ''"C." melaina'' would in ''Hypatima'', or whether the other species ought to be moved into ''Chelophoba''. Alternatively, it was proposed that ''C. melaina'' might belong in the genus ''Ethmiopsis'', as it resembles ''
E. epichthonia'' in some anatomical details; Clarke stated that perhaps ''Chelophoba'' might be synonymized with ''Ethmiopsis'' outright.
[Pitkin & Jenkins (2004), Clarke (1986)]
Footnotes
References
* (1986): Pyralidae and Microlepidoptera of the Marquesas Archipelago. ''Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology'' 416: 1-485
PDF fulltext (214 MB!)
* (2004a)
Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species&ndash
''Ethmiopsis'' Version of 2004-NOV-05. Retrieved 2011-OCT-17.
* (2004b)
Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species&ndash
''Homoshelas'' Version of 2004-NOV-05. Retrieved 2011-OCT-17.
Chelariini
Gelechiidae genera
Taxa named by Edward Meyrick
{{Chelariini-stub