''Sabatinca ianthina'' is a species of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

belonging to the family

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 (Kristens ...

. It was described by

Alfred Philpott Alfred Philpott (15 December 1870 – 24 July 1930) was a New Zealand museum curator, entomologist and writer. He was born in Tysoe, Warwickshire, England, on 15 December 1870. He became the first person to describe ''Zelleria maculata ' ...

in 1921. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. This species can be found on both the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

and the

South Islands The Kingdom of the Isles consisted of the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Firth of Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norse as the , or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the or Nort ...

from the Hawkes Bay down to Westland. The adults of this species are on the wing from the end of September until the middle of December. Although this species resembles ''

Zealandopterix zonodoxa ''Zealandopterix zonodoxa'' is a moth of the family Micropterigidae. It endemic to New Zealand and is found from the Hawkes Bay north as well as on Poor Knights, Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands. It is the smallest micropterigid in New ...

, S. ianthina'' is a larger moth and the range of the two species only overlaps in White Pine Bush Scenic Reserve in the Hawke’s Bay.

Taxonomy

This species was described by Alfred Philpott in 1921 from specimens collected at

Dun Mountain Dun Mountain is a mountain in the Richmond Range near the city of Nelson in the Tasman District of New Zealand's South Island. It is located between the catchments of the Pelorus, Maitai and Roding Rivers. The mountain is named for its brown ( ...

near

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. Adults were found on a rocky slope covered with various species of mosses and liverworts. They were resting on ''

Gahnia ''Gahnia'' (sawsedge, saw-sedge) is a genus of sedges native to China, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and a number of Pacific Islands. The common name is due to the toothed margins. It often forms tussocks. Species Acce ...

'' species, although it seems this species does not have any closer affinities to this plant. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

specimen is held at the

New Zealand Arthropod Collection The New Zealand Arthropod Collection is a collection of terrestrial invertebrates held by Maanaki Whenua – Landcare Research in Auckland, New Zealand.http://biocol.org/institutional-collection/new-zealand-arthropod-collection It specialises i ...

Description

Larvae associated this species have yet to be collected. Philpott described this species as follows: Although this species resembles ''

, S. ianthina'' is a larger moth and the range of the two species only overlaps in White Pine Bush Scenic Reserve in the Hawke’s Bay.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. This species can be found on both the North and the South Islands from the Hawkes Bay down to Westland from altitudes ranging from sea level up to 1400 m.

Behaviour

The adults of this species are on the wing from the end of September until the middle of December.

Host species

The larvae of this species likely feed on foliose liverwort species with the adults likely feeding on fern spores or sedge pollen.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7395954 Micropterigidae Moths described in 1921 Endemic fauna of New Zealand Moths of New Zealand Taxa named by Alfred Philpott Endemic moths of New Zealand