''Mnesarchaea hudsoni'' is a species of primitive

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 Mnesarchaeidae. This species was first described by

George William Gibbs George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

in 2019, and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is found in the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Coromandel Coromandel may refer to: Places India *Coromandel Coast, India **Presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements **Dutch Coromandel *Coromandel, KGF, Karnataka, India New Zealand *Coromandel, New Zealand, a town on the Coromandel Peninsula *Corom ...

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

, Taupo, Gisborne,

Hawkes Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

regions. This species inhabits cool, damp parts of native forest or lives alongside waterways and can be found at altitudes ranging from sea-level up to 800 m. Adults of this species are on the wing from February to April. ''M. hudsoni'' is very similar in appearance to its near relatives ''M. fusca'' and '' M. fallax'' but can be distinguished via differences in male genitalia.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by George William Gibbs in 2019 and named ''Mnesarchaea hudsoni'' in honour of

George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a title conferr ...

. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

specimen was collected at Ōtari-Wilton's Bush in Wellington in March 1922 by George Hudson and is held at the

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Description

''M. hudsoni'' is a small moth with a dark brown appearance with ochreous coloured scales scattered over the forewings. The antennae of the adult of this species is ochreous yellow and the forewings are greater than 3.4 mm in length. This species is very similar in appearance to its near relatives ''M. fusca'' and ''M. fallax.'' However the genitalia of ''M. hudsoni'' is quite distinct. ''M. hudsoni'' also inhabits a range that does not overlap with ''M. fusca''.

Distribution

This species is endemic to New Zealand. This species is found in the Auckland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Taupo, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington regions.

Habitat

This species prefers to live in cool shaded areas either deep in native forest or alongside rivers and streams. It can be found at altitudes ranging from 800 m down to sea level.

Behaviour

The adults of this species are on the wing from February to April. This is a later flight season than its near relatives and can assist in distinguishing this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q108111984 Moths described in 2019 Endemic fauna of New Zealand Moths of New Zealand Mnesarchaeoidea Taxa named by George William Gibbs Endemic moths of New Zealand