Mnesarchaeoidea is a

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

of "

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 coun ...

primitive

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 ...

" containing one family, Mnesarchaeidae and a two genera, ''Mnesarchaea'', and ''Mnesarchella,'' both of which are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Taxonomy and systematics

Mnesarchaeoidea constitutes the living

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to the

Hepialoidea The Hepialoidea are the superfamily of "ghost moths" and "swift moths". Fossils Fossil Hepialoidea appear to be few. ''Prohepialus'' (possibly Hepialidae) has been described from the about 35-million-year-old Bembridge marls of Isle of Wight. ...

. Within the superfamily, there is only one family, Mnesarchaeidae that contains two distinct genera, ''Mnesarchaea'' and ''Mnesarchella''. The two are separated by differences in morphology and colour. ''Mnesarchaea'' are white on the head and thorax scales while ''Mnesarchella'' have brown heads and thorax scales. There are currently 14 known species belonging to this family, four belonging to the ''Mnesarchaea'' genus and 10 to ''Mnesarchella''.

Distribution and Development

The species within Mnesarchaeidae are all endemic species, occurring naturally only in New Zealand. Even within this single country, different species only occur in certain areas within New Zealand, no known species occur throughout the entire country. They live on a 1 year cycle, living as larvae and then reaching full maturity in the spring.

Morphology and Identification

The

mouthparts Mouthparts may refer to: * The parts of a mouth ** Arthropod mouthparts The mouthparts of arthropods have evolved into a number of forms, each adapted to a different style or mode of feeding. Most mouthparts represent modified, paired append ...

of the adult moths are functional, unlike

. Their notable traits are their small wingspan of less than 12mm and their brown bodies. The family has numerous unique physical traits including "wing venation with a single Rs1+2 vein; the lack of any positive wing-coupling mechanism; bilobed sternum A1 with external arms; male genitalia in which pseudoteguminal and valve plates are fused anteriorly to enclose a spacious subgenital crypt; female genitalia with unique elongate dorsal and subgenital plates, synscleritous anteriorly." The members of this family share certain traits with other members of the Lepidoptera order such as "discrete mandibles that lack articulation or musculature; a short, coiled, functional proboscis with intrinsic muscle fibres; a primitively 3-segmented maxillary palp; functional salivary glands (as in Lophocoronidae)."

Biology and behaviour

The moths are mostly day-flying. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e live in silken galleries among

liverworts 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 ...

and soil detritus. They tend to be active from mid Spring to early Autumn in New Zealand (October to March). Throughout the day, they are most active during daylight hours, minus times when the sun is most intense. A noticeable difference between male and females is that males are the only ones that fly to travel. Females generally lay about 32 eggs in their lifetime. Larva of the family make silk-tunnels under foliage until they reach maturity, obtaining food from the tunnel.

Genera

* ''

Mnesarchaea Mnesarchaea is a genus of "New Zealand primitive moths" in the family Mnesarchaeidae. This genus is endemic to New Zealand. Taxonomy This genus was first described by Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854, in Ramsbury – 31 ...

'' Meyrick, 1885 * ''

Mnesarchella Mnesarchella is a genus of "New Zealand primitive 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 tho ...

'' Gibbs, 2019

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17592189 Moth families Mnesarchaeoidea