Buller's moth (''Aoraia mairi'') is a possibly extinct moth that is endemic to

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 count ...

. It is known from a single specimen caught in the

Ruahine Range The Ruahine Range is the largest of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand that form a ridge running parallel with the east coast of the island between East Cape and Wellington. The ridge is at its most pronounced from the cen ...

Sir Walter Buller Sir Walter Lawry Buller (9 October 1838 – 19 July 1906) was a New Zealand lawyer and naturalist who was a dominant figure in New Zealand ornithology. His book, ''A History of the Birds of New Zealand'', first published in 1873, was publishe ...

while on an expedition searching for the

huia The huia ( ; ; ''Heteralocha acutirostris'') is an extinct species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of a huia was in 1907, although there was a credible sighting in 1924. It ...

in the summer of 1867. Buller named it ''Porina mairi'' in honour of his brother-in-law Captain Gilbert Mair. Buller described the species as having a wingspan of almost 6 inches (150 mm). It is this wingspan that rules out the specimen being associated with species such as '' Dumbletonius characterifer''. The specimen was sent to the British Museum on the ''Assaye'' in 1890. Although this ship was reported as sinking, this happened on its return journey from Britain. This implies that the specimen did make it to Britain. However the present location of the moth specimen is currently unknown. In 1975 two caterpillars were collected in the Ōrongorongo River valley and appeared to be new to science. Scientists were unable to confirm whether they were the caterpillars of Buller's moth or were a new species of giant moth, despite attempts to raise the caterpillars to maturity. Subsequent study of these specimens indicated they belong to either ''D. characterifer'' or '' Aoraia enysii''.

Conservation status

''A. mairi'' was classed as "unevaluated" in

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 ...

Threat Classification lists. This was as a result of the type specimen of the species being destroyed or lost and that the species has remained unrecognised since its description.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q24997941 Moths of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Moths described in 1872 Taxa named by Walter Buller Endemic moths of New Zealand