''Ectropis'' 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 ...

in the

geometer moth The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek (derivative form of or "the earth"), and "measure" in referen ...

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 ...

(Geometridae). They are mostly

paleotropical The Paleotropical kingdom (Paleotropis) is a floristic kingdom composed of the tropical areas of Africa, Asia and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), as proposed by Ronald Good and Armen Takhtajan. Part of its flora is inherited fr ...

, but also plentiful in

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 extend into Asia. Only one species – or

cryptic species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

– (

the engrailed The engrailed and small engrailed (''Ectropis crepuscularia'') are moths of the family Geometridae found from the British Isles through central and eastern Europe to the Russian Far East and Kazakhstan. The western Mediterranean and Asia Minor ...

/small engrailed, ''E. bistortata''/''E. crepuscularia'') is found in Europe. There are about 100 known

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), ...

in this genus.

Systematics and taxonomy

All junior synonyms of ''Ectropis'' use ''G. crepuscularia'' as

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

, and thus, even though this large genus might warrant

subgeneric In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the gen ...

division, no names are presently available. Apart from ''Tephrosia'', established by

Jean Baptiste Boisduval Jean Baptiste Alphonse Déchauffour de Boisduval (24 June 1799 – 30 December 1879) was a French lepidopterist, botanist, and physician. He was one of the most celebrated lepidopterists of France, and was the co-founder of the Société ento ...

in 1840, the synonyms are also

junior homonym In biology, a homonym is a name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another such name, that belongs to a different taxon. The rule in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is that the first such name to be published is the s ...

s and consequently completely invalid. One of them, ''Coenobita'', was proposed by

Johannes von Nepomuk Franz Xaver Gistel Johannes von Nepomuk Franz Xaver Gistel istl(11 August 1809 – 9 March 1873) was a German naturalist. He worked at the Museum of Natural History in Regensburg, and wrote on a range of topics under the pseudonyms Garduus and G. Tilesius (an ...

in 1848. Gistl was unaware that

Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796–1805), a founding work of entomology. Scientific career Hübner was the author of '' ...

had described the genus ''Ectropis'', but he knew of Boisduval's ''Tephrosia''. However, Gistl misread the name of the spider genus ''

Theraphosa ''Theraphosa'' is a genus of South American tarantulas that was first described by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1805. The ''Theraphosa'' spiders are some of the largest known to science. it contains three species, found in Guyana, Brazil, Vene ...

'' (established by

Charles Athanase Walckenaer Baron Charles Athanase Walckenaer (25 December 1771 – 28 April 1852) was a French civil servant, writer, man of letters, and scientist. He was a polymath and wrote extensively on geography, natural history, and literature. Major contributio ...

in 1805) as ''Tephrosia'', and thus came to believe that ''Tephrosia'' was in need of a new name. He chose ''

Coenobita :''The junior homonym ''Coenobita'' Gistl, 1848 is now the moth genus '' Ectropis. The genus ''Coenobita'' contains 17 species of terrestrial hermit crabs. Several species in this genus are kept as pets. Ecology ''Coenobita'' species carry w ...

'', which to his misfortune had been given to a genus of

hermit crab Hermit crabs are anomuran Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily Paguroidea that have adapted to occupy empty scavenged mollusc shells to protect their fragile exoskeletons. There are over 800 species of hermit c ...

s by

Pierre André Latreille Pierre André Latreille (; 29 November 1762 – 6 February 1833) was a French zoology, zoologist, specialising in arthropods. Having trained as a Roman Catholic priest before the French Revolution, Latreille was imprisoned, and only regained hi ...

in 1829 already. The other preoccupied synonym, ''Boarmia'', had earlier been given to closely related moths. That group is now included in ''Hypomecis'', which thus has become the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

of the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Boarmiini The Boarmiini (also often called ''Cleorini'') are a large tribe (biology), tribe of geometer moths in the Ennominae subfamily. Description and systematics This family is sometimes massively expanded, with the closely related Bistonini, Bupalini ...

in the geometer moth

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 ...

Ennominae Ennominae is the largest subfamily of the geometer moth family (Geometridae), with some 9,700 described species in 1,100 genera. Most species are fairly small, though some (such as the peppered moth) grow to be considerably large. This subfamily ...

. ''Ectropis'' is also a member of the Boarmiini.

Selected 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 ''Ectropis'' include:ABRS (2010), and see references in Savela (2010) Some species formerly included here are now placed elsewhere, e.g. in '' Calcyopa'', ''

Myrioblephara ''Myrioblephara'' is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae The geometer moths are moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classif ...

'' or ''

Parectropis ''Parectropis'' is a genus in the geometer moth family (Geometridae). A small Old World genus, it contains only a good dozen species altogether, though new ones are still being discovered. Only one species ('' P. similaria'') is found in Europe; ...

Footnotes

References

* * (2010): Australian Faunal Directory &ndash
''Ectropis''
Version of 28 May 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2011. * (2011)
''Ectropis''
Version 2.4, 27 January 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2011. * (2004a)
Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species
&ndash
''Boarmia'' Stephens, 1829
Version of 5 November 2004. Retrieved 21 April 2011. * (2004b)
Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species
&ndash
''Coenobita'' Gistl, 1848
Version of 5 November 2004. Retrieved 21 April 2011. * (2004c)
Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species
&ndash
''Ectropis''
Version of 5 November 2004. Retrieved 21 April 2011. * (2010): ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'

Version of 4 July 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2011. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3008607 Boarmiini Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller