''Thectophila'' is a genus of
moths in the family
Cosmopterigidae, although some sources place it in the family
Blastodacnidae
The Agonoxeninae are a subfamily of moths.
History of classification
Formerly, the subfamily only contained four named species – all in the type genus ''Agonoxena'' – if (e.g. following Nielsen ''et al.'', 1996). Such a monotypic arr ...
. The genus contains only one species, ''Thectophila acmotypa''. This species is
endemic to
New Zealand. It is classified as "Data Deficient" by the
Department of Conservation
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...
.
Taxonomy
This species was originally described by
Edward Meyrick in 1927 using a female specimen collected by
George Hudson at
Arthur's Pass at approximately 1200 m. in February.
Hudson discussed and illustrated the species under that name in his 1928 publication ''The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand.''
The
holotype specimen is held at the
Natural History Museum, London.
Description
Meyrick described the species as follows:
Distribution
This species is endemic to New Zealand.
It is only known from one locality, Arthur's Pass.
Biology and behaviour
Very little is known of the biology of this species.
The adult male is on the wing in February.
Habitat and host species
This species prefers habitat consisting of rough herbage in mountainous terrain.
The habitat of the species is protected as it falls within the Arthur's Pass National Park.
The host species of this moths larvae is unknown.
Conservation status
This species has been classified as having the "Data Deficient" conservation status under the
New Zealand Threat Classification System
The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand.
The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some ...
.
References
External links
Image of holotype specimen
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q7777665, from2=Q13639411
Cosmopterigidae
Moths of New Zealand
Endemic fauna of New Zealand
Moths described in 1927
Taxa named by Edward Meyrick
Endemic moths of New Zealand
Cosmopterigidae genera