''Palaephatus nielseni'' is a
moth 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 is found in the wetter areas of the Valdivian forest region of southern
Argentina and
Chile.
The length of the forewings is 5.2–7 mm for males and 6–7 mm for females. Adults have lustrous, light bronzy forewings, irregularly marked with various shades of brown, fuscous and white. They are on wing from October to November, in one generation per year.
A New Family of Monotrysian Moths from Austral South America (Lepidoptera: Palaephatidae), with a Phylogenetic Review of the Monotrysia
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Etymology
This species is named in honor of Dr. E.S. Nielsen, in recognition of the extensive fieldwork on this and other families of primitive Lepidoptera that he has conducted in austral South America.
References
Moths described in 1986
Palaephatidae
Taxa named by Donald R. Davis (entomologist)
{{Palaephatoidea-stub