''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 "unispe ...

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

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

. The life cycle is unknown but the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

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 t ...

first

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

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, then spent his entire career at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in P ...

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 present ...

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