Bombycites Explained

Bombycites oeningensis is an extinct lepidopteran from the Messinian (7-5 million years ago) of Öhningen, Switzerland.^[1] It is described in 1849 from a fossil pupa by the Swiss geologist and naturalist Oswald Heer.^[2] Because neither the adult nor larval forms are known, either of which contain crucial diagnostic features, its familial and superfamilial placement is uncertain.^{[3] [4]}

See also

• Prehistoric Lepidoptera

Further reading

• Butler. A. G.. 5. On the Heterocera in the Collection of Lepidoptera from New Ireland obtained by the Rev. G. Brown.. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 47. 1. 2009. 160–166. 0370-2774. 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1879.tb02644.x.
• Butler. Arthur G.. Description of new Lepidoptera of the Group Bombycites, in the Collection of the British Museum.. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 46. 1. 2009. 381–388. 0370-2774. 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1878.tb07973.x.
• Butler. Arthur Gardiner. XIX. On the Lepidoptera of the Amazons, collected by Dr. James W. H. Trail during the years 1873 to 1875. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London. 29. 3. 2009. 315–349. 0035-8894. 10.1111/j.1365-2311.1881.tb03211.x.
• Butler. Arthur Gardiner. XVII.—Description of a new genus and species of Heterocerous Lepidoptera. Journal of Natural History. Series 4. 10. 56. 1872. 125–126. 0374-5481. 10.1080/00222937208696656.

Notes and References

1. "Perhaps the richest Miocene insect deposits in Europe are from Oeningen in Switzerland and Radoboj in Croatia. Fossils from these localities were extensively monographed by Oswald Heer." (David Grimaldi, Michael S. Engel, 2005, Evolution of the Insects p.89).
2. Heer, in series Neue Denkschriften der Allgemeinen Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für die gesammten Naturwissenschaft, 1849.
3. Web site: Bombycites. Paleobiology Database. November 13, 2011.
4. Web site: Bombycites Heer, 1849 . "Insektenfauna Tertiärgebilde Oeningen und Radoboj in Croatien" (2) : 183. Butterflies and Moths of the World. 2023 . The Natural History Museum. 10.5519/s93616qw . November 13, 2011.