Larentiinae 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 approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s containing roughly 5,800

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

that occur mostly in the

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions of the world. They are generally considered 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 ...

of the

geometer moth The geometer moths are moths belonging to the family Geometridae of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek ''geo'' γεω (derivative form of or "the earth"), and ''metro ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

(Geometridae) and are divided into a few large or good-sized

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

s, and numerous very small or even

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

ones which might not always be valid. Well-known members are the "pug moths" of the

Eupitheciini Eupitheciini is a tribe of geometer moths under subfamily Larentiinae, often referred to as pugs. The tribe was described by Tutt in 1896. Diversity The tribe consists of about 47 genera, 15 of which are monotypic. Recognized genera * '' Aepylo ...

and the "carpets", mainly of the

Cidariini The Cidariini are the largest tribe of geometer moths in the subfamily Larentiinae (possibly a distinct familyYoung (2008)). The Cidariini include many of the species known as "carpets" or, ambiguously, " carpet moths" (most other "carpets" are ...

and

Xanthorhoini Xanthorhoini is a tribe of geometer moths under subfamily Larentiinae Larentiinae is a subfamily of moths containing roughly 5,800 species that occur mostly in the temperate regions of the world. They are generally considered a subfamily of t ...

. The subfamily was described by

Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel (1774 – 10 January 1846) was a French soldier and entomologist. Life and career Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel was born in 1774 in Valenciennes, Nord, and died on 10 January 1846 in Paris. After studies ...

in 1845.

Systematics and description

Morphological and

DNA sequence DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Th ...

data indicate that they are a very ancient lineage of geometer moths; they might even be distinct enough to warrant elevation to full family status in the superfamily

Geometroidea The Geometroidea are the superfamily of geometrid moths in the order Lepidoptera. It includes the families Geometridae, Uraniidae, Epicopeiidae, Sematuridae, and the recently established family Pseudobistonidae. The monotypic genus ''Apoprogones ...

. They share numerous

plesiomorph In phylogenetics, a plesiomorphy ("near form") and symplesiomorphy are synonyms for an ancestral character shared by all members of a clade, which does not distinguish the clade from other clades. Plesiomorphy, symplesiomorphy, apomorphy, a ...

ic traits – for example at least one

areola The human areola (''areola mammae'', or ) is the pigmented area on the breast around the nipple. Areola, more generally, is a small circular area on the body with a different histology from the surrounding tissue, or other small circular ar ...

in the forewing, a hammer-shaped ansa of the

tympanal organ A tympanal organ (or tympanic organ) is a hearing organ in insects, consisting of a membrane ( tympanum) stretched across a frame backed by an air sac and associated sensory neurons. Sounds vibrate the membrane, and the vibrations are sensed by ...

and the lack of a gnathos – with the

Sterrhinae Sterrhinae is a large subfamily of geometer moths (family Geometridae) with some 3,000 described species, with more than half belonging to the taxonomically difficult, very diverse genera, ''Idaea'' and ''Scopula'' (Hausmann, 2004; Sihvonen, 2005 ...

which are either somewhat less distant from other geometer moths or are part of the same distinct lineage; the

Lythriini ''Lythria'' is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae erected by Jacob Hübner in 1823. It is the only genus of the monotypic tribe Lythriini described by Claude Herbulot Claude Herbulot (19 February 1908 – 19 January 2006) was a French en ...

were until recently placed in the Larentiinae but are apparently Sterrhinae.Õunap ''et al.'' (2008), Young (2008) But the Larentiinae characteristically tend to have much longer foreleg tarsi and hindleg tibiae than their relatives, and also have hairy or toothed extensions on the upperside sections of the transtilla; their

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s often have the

abdominal The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso ...

proleg A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on other larval insects such as sawflies and a few other types of in ...

s reduced already (as is typical for the more advanced geometer moths), and the Larentiinae's

s have a unique and characteristic structure.

Selected genera and species

Genera ''incertae sedis''

Several

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

have hitherto not been definitely assigned to a

.See references in Savela (2008) These include:

Footnotes

References

* (2008)
"Family group names in Geometridae"
Retrieved 22 July 2008. * (2008). "Systematic position of Lythriini revised: transferred from Larentiinae to Sterrhinae (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)". ''

Zoologica Scripta ''Zoologica Scripta'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal on systematic zoology, published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It was established in 197 ...

''. 37 (4): 405–413. * * (2008)
"Characterisation of the Australian Nacophorini using adult morphology, and phylogeny of the Geometridae based on morphological characters"
''

Zootaxa ''Zootaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists. It is published by Magnolia Press (Auckland, New Zealand). The journal was established by Zhi-Qiang Zhang in 2001 and new issues are published multiple times a week. ...

''. 1736: 1–141.

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q139176 Geometridae Moth subfamilies