''Xerocrates'' is a

monotypic 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 "unispe ...

moth genus in the family

Xyloryctidae Xyloryctidae is a family of moths contained within the superfamily Gelechioidea described by Edward Meyrick in 1890. Most genera are found in the Indo-Australian region. While many of these moths are tiny, some members of the family grow to a wing ...

. Its only species, ''Xerocrates proleuca'', is found in Australia, where it has been recorded from

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Both the genus and species were first 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 m ...

in 1890. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

is about 19 mm. The forewings are fuscous, towards the inner and hindmargin sprinkled with whitish and dark fuscous and with a moderate sharply marked snow-white streak along the costa from near the base to five-sixths, attenuated anteriorly to a point, beneath bordered by a broad ochreous-brown band from the base to three-fourths. There is an ill-defined small roundish dark fuscous spot beneath the middle of the disc, suffusedly margined with whitish, and a second, unmargined, in the disc at four-fifths. The hindwings are fuscous, rather darker posteriorly.

References

Xyloryctidae Taxa named by Edward Meyrick Monotypic moth genera Xyloryctidae genera {{Xyloryctidae-stub