''Zamagiria'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of small

moths 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 ...

belonging to the

snout moth The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyralida ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

(Pyralidae). They are part of the huge snout moth subfamily

Phycitinae The Phycitinae are a subfamily of snout moths (family Pyralidae). Even though the Pyralidae subfamilies are all quite diverse, Phycitinae stand out even by standards of their family: with over 600 genera considered valid and more than 4000 specie ...

, but their exact relationships are obscure, and they are currently not assigned to a particular

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

of Phycitinae. This genus is almost exclusively found in the

Neotropic The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

s. One

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

('' Z. laidion'') ranges north up to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and one other ('' Z. exedra'') was described from a specimen collected on

Nuku Hiva Nuku Hiva (sometimes spelled Nukahiva or Nukuhiva) is the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France in the Pacific Ocean. It was formerly also known as ''Île Marchand'' and ''Madison Island''. Herman ...

in the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...

. But the latter may simply have been accidentally introduced, being in reality a Neotropical species whose native range has not yet been discovered.Clarke (1986) ''Zamagiria'' moths can usually be recognized in the field by their wing

vein Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated b ...

s; the forewing has 11 veins (vein 7 is missing), and veins 4 and 5 almost connect at the base in the forewings, while on the hindwings veins 4 and 5 are connected along half of their entire length. Species of ''Zamagiria'' include:Clarke (1986), and see references in Savela (2003) * ''

Zamagiria australella ''Zamagiria'' is a genus of small moths belonging to the snout moth family (Pyralidae). They are part of the huge snout moth subfamily Phycitinae, but their exact relationships are obscure, and they are currently not assigned to a particular tr ...

'' (Hulst, 1900) * ''

Zamagiria dixolophella ''Zamagiria'' is a genus of small moths belonging to the snout moth family (Pyralidae). They are part of the huge snout moth subfamily Phycitinae, but their exact relationships are obscure, and they are currently not assigned to a particular tr ...

'' Dyar, 1914 * '' Zamagiria exedra'' Clarke, 1986 * ''

Zamagiria kendalli ''Zamagiria'' is a genus of small moths belonging to the snout moth family (biology), family (Pyralidae). They are part of the huge snout moth subfamily Phycitinae, but their exact relationships are obscure, and they are currently not assigned t ...

'' Blanchard, 1970 * '' Zamagiria laidion'' (Zeller, 1881)

Footnotes

References

* (1986): Pyralidae and Microlepidoptera of the Marquesas Archipelago. ''Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology'' 416: 1-485
PDF fulltext
(214 MB!) * (2003): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms &ndash

Version of 203-MAY-04. Retrieved 2011-MAY-28. Phycitinae Moths of South America Pyralidae genera {{Phycitinae-stub