''Phassodes'' is a moth genus of the family

Hepialidae The Hepialidae are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths. Taxonomy and systematics The Hepialidae constitute by far the most diverse group of the infraorder Exop ...

. , it is

monospecific In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, consisting of the sole species ''Phassodes vitiensis''; this species is very variable. It is found in Fiji and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

. The life cycle is unknown but 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. ...

is presumed to feed underground on the roots of plants or decaying matter.

Taxonomic history

The British entomologist

George Thomas Bethune-Baker George Thomas Bethune-Baker (20 July 1857, in Birmingham – 1 December 1944, in Eastbourne) was an English entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera, especially those in the family Lycaenidae of butterflies. His collection is partly in the M ...

first

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

the genus ''Phassodes'' in 1905. He included six species, all of which he described in the same work. In 1950, the French entomologist

Pierre Viette Pierre E. L. Viette (29 June 1921 – 30 April 2011) was a French entomologist. He attended university in Dijon during the German occupation of France in World War II and subsequently spent his entire career at the Muséum national d'Histoire natu ...

synonymized Bethune-Baker's ''P. nausori'' with ''P. vitiensis''; ''P. vitiensis'' was first described by

Walter Rothschild Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was presen ...

in 1895.

References

Works cited

External links

* Hepialidae Monotypic moth genera Taxa named by George Thomas Bethune-Baker Exoporia genera Moths of Oceania {{Hepialidae-stub