The Calpinae are a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

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 w ...

s in the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...

described by

Jean Baptiste Boisduval Jean Baptiste Alphonse Déchauffour de Boisduval (24 June 1799 – 30 December 1879) was a French lepidopterist, botanist, and physician. He was one of the most celebrated lepidopterists of France, and was the co-founder of the Société entomol ...

in 1840. This subfamily includes many species of moths that have a pointed and barbed

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...

adapted to piercing the skins of fruit to feed on juice, and in the case of the several '' Calyptra'' species of vampire moths, to piercing the skins of mammals to feed on blood. The subfamily contains some large moths with wingspans longer than 5 cm (2 in).

Taxonomy

Recent

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

studies have greatly revised this subfamily. The subfamily was previously classified within the

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

, but the redefinition of that family has reclassified many of that family's subfamilies, including Calpinae, into the family

. The Calpinae are most closely related to a clade including the subfamilies

Eulepidotinae Eulepidotinae is a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae. Adult males in the subfamily have midtibial tufts of hairs. Adult females have the ostial opening located between the seventh and eighth abdominal sternites instead of located ante ...

and

Hypocalinae Hypocalinae is a subfamily 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 approximate ...

, which are also among the Erebidae. The tribes Anomini and Scoliopterygini, previously included in the Calpinae, were found to be distantly related and were reclassified into a separate subfamily as the Scoliopteryginae.

Tribes

The Calpinae consist of three

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

tribes. *

Calpini The Calpini are a tribe of fruit-piercing moths in the family Erebidae; formerly they were included in the family Noctuidae. The proboscis of the adult moths of this tribe is pointed and barbed, allowing the moth to pierce the skin of fruit to dr ...

Ophiderini The Ophiderini are a tribe of moths in the family Erebidae. Taxonomy The moths most closely related to the Ophiderini are in the tribe Calpini. Genera The following genera are included in the tribe. *''Eudocima ''Eudocima'' is a genus of mot ...

* Phyllodini

Previous taxonomy

The status of the former composition of the Calpinae was somewhat disputed; it was sometimes merged into the Catocalinae. Most of the calpine genera were not further classified. The

structure of this group was essentially unresolved, and in many cases it was even doubtful whether the genera were indeed correctly placed in this subfamily. Tribe Calpini * '' Africalpe'' Krüger, 1939 * '' Calyptra'' Ochsenheimer, 1816 * '' Eudocima'' Billberg, 1820 * '' Ferenta'' Walker, 1858 * '' Gonodonta'' Hübner, 1818 * '' Graphigona'' Walker, 1858 * '' Oraesia'' Boisduval & Guenée, 1852 * '' Plusiodonta'' Boisduval & Guenée, 1852 * '' Tetrisia'' Walker, 1867 Tribe Gonopterini * '' Scoliopteryx'' Genera ''incertae sedis'' * '' Cecharismena'' Möschler, 1890 * '' Culasta'' Moore, 1881 * ''

Euryschema ''Euryschema'' is a monotypic moth genus of the family Erebidae. Its only species, ''Euryschema tricycla'', is known from Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queens ...

'' Turner, 1925 * '' Epicyrtica'' Turner, 1908 * ''

Goniapteryx ''Goniapteryx'' is a genus of moths of the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Maximilian Perty Josef Anton Maximilian Perty (17 September 1804, Ornbau – 8 August 1884, Bern) was a German naturalist and entomologist. He was a profe ...

'' Perty, 1833 * '' Hemiceratoides'' Strand, 1911 * '' Pharga'' Walker, 1863 * '' Phyprosopus'' Grote, 1872 * ''

Psammathodoxa ''Psammathodoxa'' is a genus of moths of the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. (February 14, 1866 – January 21, 1929) was an American entomologist. Dyar's Law, a pattern of geometric pr ...

'' Dyar, 1921 * '' Radara'' Walker, 1862 Genera provisionally placed here (incomplete list); includes taxa sometimes separated in Ophiderinae

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2934400 Calpinae Moth subfamilies