''Metaphatus cirrhus'' is a

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 ...

of the family

Palaephatidae Palaephatoidea is a superfamily of insects in the order Lepidoptera with a single family, Palaephatidae with seven known genera. These "Gondwanaland moths" exhibit a disjunct distribution occurring mainly in South America (Davis, 1986), with fou ...

. It was described by Donald R. Davis in 1986."A New Family of Monotrysian Moths from Austral South America (Lepidoptera: Palaephatidae), with a Phylogenetic Review of the Monotrysia"
by Donald R. Davis. It is found in the dry '' Nothofagus'' forests of central

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. The length of the forewings is 8–10 mm for males and 8.5–11 mm for females. Adults have yellowish brown forewings, lightly marked with brown. They are on wing from December to January in one generation per year.

Etymology

The specific name is derived from Greek ''kirrhos'' (meaning tawny or brownish yellow) and refers to the general color of the species.

References

Moths described in 1986 Palaephatidae Taxa named by Donald R. Davis (entomologist) Endemic fauna of Chile {{Palaephatoidea-stub