Agathiphaga
| Agathiphaga | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Suborder: | Aglossata Speidel, 1977 |
| Superfamily: | Agathiphagoidea N. P. Kristensen, 1967 |
| Family: | Agathiphagidae N. P. Kristensen, 1967 |
| Genus: | Agathiphaga Dumbleton, 1952 |
| Species | |
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Agathiphaga is a genus of moths in the family Agathiphagidae, known as kauri moths. This caddis fly-like lineage of primitive moths was first reported by Lionel Jack Dumbleton in 1952, as a new genus of Micropterigidae.[1]
The caterpillars feed only on "kauri" (Agathis) and are currently considered the second most primitive living lineage of moths after Micropterigoidea.[2] The larva has been reported to be able to survive for 12 years in diapause,[3] durability possibly a prerequisite to its possible dispersion around the Pacific islands in the seeds of Agathis.
Dumbleton described two species. Agathiphaga queenslandensis is found along the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, and its larvae feed on Agathis robusta.[4] Agathiphaga vitiensis is found from Fiji to Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, and its larvae feed on Agathis vitiensis.
References
- ↑ Lionel Jack Dumbleton (1952). "A new genus of seed-infesting micropterygid moths" (PDF). Pacific Science. 6: 17–29.
- ↑ N. P. Kristensen (1999). "The non-Glossatan moths". In N. P. Kristensen. Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbook of Zoology. A Natural History of the phyla of the Animal Kingdom. Volume IV Arthropoda: Insecta Part 35. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 41–49.
- ↑ M. S. Upton (1997). "A twelve-year larval diapause in the Queensland kauri moth, Agathiphaga queenslandiae Dumbleton (Lepidoptera: Agathiphagidae)". The Entomologist. 116: 142–143.
- ↑ "Species Agathiphaga queenslandensis Dumbleton, 1952". Australian Faunal Directory. Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. October 9, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
External links
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Wikispecies has information related to: Agathiphaga |
- Agathiphaga at The Global Lepidoptera Names Index, Natural History Museum
- Agathiphaga queenslandensis at The Global Lepidoptera Names Index, Natural History Museum
- Agathiphaga vitiensis at The Global Lepidoptera Names Index, Natural History Museum
- Agathiphagidae Tree of Life Web Project
- "Agathiphaga queenslandensis Dumbleton, 1952". Australian Moths Online. CSIRO Entomology.
