Genus Termessa Newman, 1856

Museums

Regional Maps

• Termessa Newman, E. 1856. Characters of three Pseudomorphina in the cabinet of Mr. Waterhouse. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London n.s. 8: 126-128 [published April 1856].

  Type species:

   Termessa shepherdi Newman, April 1856 by monotypy.
• Termessa Walker, F. 1856. Lepidoptera Heterocera. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum 7: 1508-1808 [incl. Index to parts 1-7] [published May 1856] [1689] [junior homonym].

  Type species:

   Termessa laeta Walker, May 1856 by monotypy.
• Clisobara Walker, F. 1865. Supplement 1. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum 31: 1-321 [Part 31 dated 1864 but published 11 February, 1865] [269].

  Type species:

   Clissobara catocalina Walker, [1865] by monotypy.
• Lerna Walker, F. 1865. Supplement 3. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum 33: 707-1120 [805].

  Type species:

   Lerna nivosa Walker, 1865 by monotypy.
• Termissa Froggatt, W.W. 1907. Australian Insects. Sydney : W. Brooks & Co. xiv 449 pp., 37 pls. [Date published April 11, 1907] [249] [subsequent misspelling].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Watson, A., Fletcher, D.S. & Nye, I.W.B. 1980. Noctuioidea (part): Arctiidae, Cocytiidae, Ctenuchidae, Dilobidae, Dioptidae, Lymantriidae, Notodontidae, Strepsimanidae, Thaumetopoeidae, Thyretidae. In, Nye, I.W.B. (ed.). The Generic Names of Moths of the World. London : British Museum (Natural History) Vol. 2 xiv+228 pp., frontispiece. [190]
• Edwards, E.D. 1996. Arctiidae. pp.278-286 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [366, 368]

Introduction

Termessa Newman, 1856. Newman (1856) stated that he was adopting Walker's generic names and attributed the genus name to Walker. However, Walker had no part in the description of Termessa shepherdi Newman upon which the validity of the genus depends. The situation is no different from the use by an author of a manuscript name. See also Watson et al. (1980).

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

NSW, Qld: Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET) ; NSW, Qld, Vic: NSW North Coast (NNC), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ)

History of changes