''Sabatinca chalcophanes'' 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

Micropterigidae Micropterigoidea is the superfamily of "mandibulate archaic moths", all placed in the single family Micropterigidae, containing currently about twenty living genera. They are considered the most primitive extant lineage of lepidoptera (Kristense ...

. This species is endemic to

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 ...

and is found in the North Island apart from Northland and in the South Island apart from in the east, south of Queen Charlotte Sound. The adults of this species are on the wing from November to April and as a result of this long period it has been hypothesised that this species has two broods. The preferred habitat of this species is in damp lowland forest. The larval host species are foliose

liverwort The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of g ...

species including ''

Hymenophyton flabellatum ''Hymenophyton flabellatum'' is a species of the order Pallaviciniales (liverworts), one of perhaps several species in the genus ''Hymenophyton''. It is a dendroid thalloid liverwort belongs to the family Hymenophytaceae and is commonly known as ...

.''

Taxonomy

This species was described by

Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854, in Ramsbury – 31 March 1938, at Thornhanger, Marlborough) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern micr ...

in 1885 using material collected at "Makatoku" (likely a misspelling of

Makotuku Makotuku is a locality in the Manawatu-Whanganui Region of New Zealand's North Island, about west of Ormondville. The settlement formed around the temporary railway terminus and was often called Makotoko. Makotuku probably refers to the place o ...

), in the

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 ...

, in March and named ''Palaeomicra chalcophanes''. Meyrick went on to give a fuller description of the species published in 1886. In 1912 Meyrick wrongly synonymised ''S. chalcophanes'' with '' S. incongruella'' which subsequently caused confusion until the error was rectified in 1979. The male

lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

specimen is held at the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

Description

Meyrick described the adults of this species as follows: The wingspan of this species is approximately in length.

Distribution

This species is endemic to

. It is found in the North Island apart from Northland and in the South Island apart from in the east, south of Queen Charlotte Sound.

Behaviour

The adults of this species are on the wing from November to April. It has been hypothesised that this long flight season may imply this species has two broods.

Host species and habitat

The larvae of this species feeds on ''

'' as well as likely other foliose liverwort species. The preferred habitat of this species is in damp lowland forest.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7395949 Micropterigidae Moths described in 1885 Endemic fauna of New Zealand Moths of New Zealand Taxa named by Edward Meyrick Endemic moths of New Zealand