''Palaephatus spinosus'' 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 forests in the Osorno Province of southern
Chile.
The length of the forewings is 5–6 mm. Adults have dark fuscous forewings marked by scattered, pale yellowish white scales concentrated mainly over the middle third. They are on wing in February in one generation per year.
A New Family of Monotrysian Moths from Austral South America (Lepidoptera: Palaephatidae), with a Phylogenetic Review of the Monotrysia
/ref>
Etymology
The specific name is derived from Latin ''spinosus'' (meaning thorny) and refers to the irregular, spinose processes of the gnathos.
References
Moths described in 1986
Palaephatidae
Taxa named by Donald R. Davis (entomologist)
Endemic fauna of Chile
{{Palaephatoidea-stub