Gelechioidea

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Curved-horn moths
Xylorycta assimilis.jpg
Adult Xylorycta assimilis of the Xyloryctidae, photographed in Aranda (Australia)
Note prominent "horns" and long antennae
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Clade: Apoditrysia
Superfamily: Gelechioidea
Fracker, 1915
Diversity
16-21 families (see text)

Gelechioidea (from the type genus Gelechia , "keeping to the ground") is the superfamily of moths that contains the case-bearers, twirler moths, and relatives, also simply called curved-horn moths or gelechioid moths. It is a large and poorly understood '"micromoth" superfamily, constituting one of the basal lineages of the Ditrysia. [1]

Contents

As of the 1990s, this superfamily was composed of about 1,425 genera and 16,250 species. It was estimated that only 25% of the species diversity of Gelechioidea had been described. [2] If this estimate is accurate, Gelechioidea will be one of the largest superfamilies of Lepidoptera. [1]

The name "curved-horn moths" refers to one of the few conspicuous features found in (almost) all Gelechioidea, and, at least in the more extreme developments, unique to them: the labial palps are well-developed (though not thickened), and form more or less gently curved protrusions whose end has a drawn-out, pointed tip. Their proboscis is generally well-developed, allowing for long-lived imagines (adults); the proximal part of the proboscis is scaly. Otherwise, the Gelechioidea vary extensively in habitus; most have small hind-wings with long, hairy fringes, though these are not easily seen in the living animal as they are tucked under the fore-wings at rest. The body is usually quite compressed, either dorsoventrally or laterally. [3]

Families

The phylogeny and classification of the Gelechioidea remains a subject of considerable dispute. For example, the Elachistidae were at one time used as a sort of "wastebin taxon" to unite as subfamilies a variety of plesiomorphic members of this superfamily, which do not actually seem to form a monophyletic group. Many of these have now been moved to the Oecophoridae, but others are almost certainly likely families in their own right, while additional ones may well be so. [4]

In 2011 the superfamily was divided into 21 families, based mainly on morphological studies, with adjustments made for some molecular studies. The number of genera and an estimate of the species number are given in parentheses. [5]

However, a later phylogenetic analysis of the Gelechioidea, using a morphological and molecular dataset, proposed a revision into 16 families, with the status of two further families, Schistonoeidae and Epimarptidae, unclear. [6]

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Robinson et al. (1994), Hodges (1999), O'Toole (2002)
  2. Hodges (1999)
  3. Robinson et al. (1994)
  4. Hodges (1999), O'Toole (2002), ToL (2009), Wikispecies (2009-OCT-12)
  5. van Nieukerken et al, 2011
  6. Heikkilä et al, 2014

Related Research Articles

Oecophoridae Family of moths

Oecophoridae is a family of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. The phylogeny and systematics of gelechoid moths are still not fully resolved, and the circumscription of the Oecophoridae is strongly affected by this.

Elachistidae Family of moths

The Elachistidae are a family of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. Some authors lump about 3,300 species in eight subfamilies here, but this arrangement almost certainly results in a massively paraphyletic and completely unnatural assemblage, united merely by symplesiomorphies retained from the first gelechioid moths.

Gelechiidae Family of moths

The Gelechiidae are a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the family's taxonomy has been subject to considerable dispute. These are generally very small moths with narrow, fringed wings. The larvae of most species feed internally on various parts of their host plants, sometimes causing galls. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga) is a host plant common to many species of the family, particularly of the genus Chionodes, which as a result is more diverse in North America than usual for Gelechioidea.

Batrachedridae Family of moths

The Batrachedridae are a small family of tiny moths. These are small, slender moths which rest with their wings wrapped tightly around their bodies.

Lecithoceridae Family of moths

The Lecithoceridae, or long-horned moths, are a family of small moths described by Simon Le Marchand in 1947. Although lecithocerids are found throughout the world, the great majority are found in the Indomalayan realm and the southern part of the Palaearctic realm.

Scythrididae Family of moths

Scythrididae is a family of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. The family is sometimes included in the Xyloryctidae as a subfamily Scythridinae, but the Xyloryctidae themselves have sometimes been included in the Oecophoridae as subfamily. Scythrididae adults are smallish to mid-sized moths, which when at rest appear teardrop-shaped.

Pterolonchidae Family of moths

Pterolonchidae is a small family of very small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. There are species native to every continent except Australia and Antarctica.

<i>Monochroa</i> Genus of moths

Monochroa is a genus of moths in the family Gelechiidae.

<i>Syncopacma</i> Genus of moths

Syncopacma is a genus of moths in the family Gelechiidae.

Depressariinae Subfamily of moths

The Depressariinae – sometimes spelled "Depressiinae" in error – are a subfamily of moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. Like their relatives therein, their exact relationships are not yet very well resolved. It has been considered part of family Elachistidae sensu lato or included in an expanded Oecophoridae. In modern classifications they are treated as the distinct gelechioid family Depressariidae.

<i>Depressaria</i> Genus of moths

Depressaria is a moth genus of the superfamily Gelechioidea. It is the type genus of subfamily Depressariinae, which is often – particularly in older treatments – considered a distinct family Depressariidae or included in the Elachistidae, but actually seems to belong in the Oecophoridae.

<i>Agonopterix</i> Genus of moths

Agonopterix is a moth genus of the superfamily Gelechioidea. It is placed in the family Depressariidae, which was often – particularly in older treatments – considered a subfamily of the Oecophoridae or included in the Elachistidae.

<i>Exaeretia</i> Genus of moths

Exaeretia is a moth genus of the superfamily Gelechioidea. It is placed in the family Depressariidae, which is often – particularly in older treatments – considered a subfamily of Oecophoridae or included in the Elachistidae.

Parametriotinae Subfamily of moths

Parametriotinae is a subfamily of moths in the family Elachistidae.

Epimarptidae was a former, or is a possible, monotypic family of moths in the moth superfamily Gelechioidea. It can now be seen as either a synonym of family Batrachedridae, or a monotypic subfamily of that family.

References

Wikispecies-logo.svg Data related to Gelechioidea at Wikispecies See also associated Talk page for comparison of some approaches to gelechioid systematics and taxonomy.