Neopseustidae Explained
Neopseustidae is a small family of day and night-flying "archaic bell moths" in the order Lepidoptera. They are classified into their own superfamily Neopseustoidea and infraorder Neopseustina. Four genera are known. These primitive moths are restricted to South America and Southeast Asia. Their biology is unknown (Davis 1975; Davis and Nielsen 1980, 1984; Kristensen, 1999).
Nematocentropus appears to be the most primitive genus occurring in Assam, Myanmar and Sichuan, China. Three species of Neopseustis are distributed from Assam to Taiwan, whilst Synempora andesae and three species of Apoplania occur in southern South America (Kristensen, 1999: 53–54). The morphology of the antennae (Faucheux 2005ab; Faucheux et al., 2006) and the proboscis (Kristensen and Nielsen 1981) has been studied in detail.
References
- Davis . Donald R. . 1975 . Systematics and Zoogeography of the Family Neopseustidae with a proposal of a New Superfamily (Lepidoptera: Neopseustoidea) . Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology . en . 210 . 1–44 . 10.5479/si.00810282.210. 10088/5502 .
- 1980 . Description of a New Genus and Two New Species of Neopseustidae from South America, with discussion of Phylogeny and Biological Observations (Lepidoptera: Neopseustoidea) . Steenstrupia. 87271658 .
- Davis . Donald R. . Schmidt Nielsen . Ebbe . 1984-01-01 . The South American neopseustid genus Apoplania Davis: a new species, distribution records and notes on adult behaviour (Lepidoptera: Neopseustina) . Insect Systematics & Evolution . en . 15 . 4 . 497–509 . 10.1163/187631284X00325.
- Faucheux . Michel J. . January 2007 . The antennal sensilla basiconica of Nematocentropus cfr. Omeiensis Hwang 1965: contribution to the knowledge of large sensilla basiconica polymorphism in Neopseustidae (Lepidoptera) . Annales de la Société entomologique de France . New Series . fr . 43 . 2 . 253–255 . 10.1080/00379271.2007.10697519 . 0037-9271.
- Faucheux, M.J., (2005b). Note brève: Evolution d’un type de sensillaire antennaire dans la famille des Neopseustidae (Lepidoptera: Glossata), la sensille basiconique large et enflée. Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Naturelles de l’Ouest de la France, 27(1).
- Faucheux . Michel J. . Kristensen . Niels P. . Yen . Shen-Horn . October 2006 . The antennae of neopseustid moths: Morphology and phylogenetic implications, with special reference to the sensilla (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Neopseustidae) . Zoologischer Anzeiger - A Journal of Comparative Zoology . en . 245 . 2 . 131–142 . 10.1016/j.jcz.2006.05.004.
- Kristensen . N.P. . Nielsen . E.S. . January 1981 . Double-tube proboscis configuration in neopseustid moths (Lepidoptera : Neopseustidae) . International Journal of Insect Morphology and Embryology . en . 10 . 5–6 . 483–486 . 10.1016/0020-7322(81)90027-1.
- Kristensen, N.P. (1999). The homoneurous Glossata. Ch. 5, pp. 51–64 in Kristensen, N.P. (Ed.). Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies. Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbuch der Zoologie. Eine Naturgeschichte der Stämme des Tierreiches / Handbook of Zoology. A Natural History of the phyla of the Animal Kingdom. Band / Volume IV Arthropoda: Insecta Teilband / Part 35: 491 pp. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York.
Sources
- Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders, edited by Christopher O'Toole,, 2002
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