''Epimarptis'' 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 of the

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 ...

Epimarptidae Epimarptidae is a family of moths in the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Gelechioidea. Depending on source publication, it was previously monotypic. The lineage was previously seen as either a synonym of the family Batrachedridae, or a unique valid m ...

, it was previously part of

Batrachedridae The Batrachedridae are a small family (biology), family of tiny moths. These are small, slender moths which rest with their wings wrapped tightly around their bodies. Taxonomy The taxonomy of this and related groups is often disputed. This grou ...

or others (see below).

Taxonomy

The genus was created by

Meyrick Meyrick is a surname and a masculine given name. Meyricke is a variant form. Surname * Denzil Meyrick (1965–2025), Scottish novelist * Edmund Meyrick (1636–1713), Welsh cleric * Edward Meyrick (1854–1938), English schoolmaster and amateu ...

, 1914 for the species '' Epermenia philocoma'' from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The genus remained

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 ...

until three years later, when Meyrick, 1917 added a second species, this time from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Here, Meyrick decided to reclassify the genus in the family

Epermeniidae Epermeniidae or the fringe-tufted moths is a family of insects in the lepidopteran order with about 14 genera. Previously they have been divided in two subfamilies Epermeniinae and Ochromolopinae (e.g. Common, 1990: 321) but this is no longer ma ...

. Finally, Meyrick, 1931 described a third species from

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, eastern India. The genus remained with just three species from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

until Kazuhiro Sugisima described a fourth new species from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 2004. Whilst specimens of this Japanese moth had been collected numerous times since at least 1975, they had remained without precise identification.

Species

The genus contains the following species: *''Epimarptis''

, 1914 **'' Epimarptis hiranoi'' Sugisima, 2004 - Japan (

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

) **'' Epimarptis isoloxa''

, 1931 - India (

) **'' Epimarptis philocoma''

, 1914 - India (

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, possibly

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

) **'' Epimarptis septicodes''

, 1917 -

(

Maskeliya Maskeliya is a town in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is the site of the 1974 crash of Martinair Flight 138, the worst air disaster in Sri Lanka. It is known for its mountains, waterfalls, unique ethnic background and estates. The actu ...

)

Ecology

See comments on the family

, but also see notes under '' Epimarptis philocoma''

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q13910189 Epimarptidae taxa named by Edward Meyrick Moths of Asia Lepidoptera genera