Subfamily Oenochrominae Guenée, 1857
- Lyrceini Meyrick, E. 1883. Monograph of New Zealand Geometrina. New Zealand Journal of Science 1: 526-531 [subjective synonym; Lyrceini].
- Monocteniini Meyrick, E. 1889. On some Lepidoptera from New Guinea. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1889: 455-522 [subjective synonym; Monocteniadae].
Introduction
The Oenochrominae were originally erected by Guenée in 1857 and initially included the genera Monoctenia Guenée, Oenochroma Guenée, Arhodia Guenée, Phallaria Guenée, Gastrophora Guenée, Sarcinodes Guenée and Hypographa Guenée. Subsequently many genera, the so-called slender-bodied oenochromines that could not be placed into other subfamilies, were placed into the Oenochrominae based predominantly on shared wing venational characters. To resolve the uncertain coherence of the group Scoble and Edwards (1990) proposed the term Oenochrominae sensu stricto for the robust-bodied genera based around Oenochroma and the balance of oenochromine taxa as the Oenochrominae sensu lato.
The Australian Oenochrominae were revised by Meyrick (1890) and were included in Genera Insectorum by L.B. Prout (1910), in Lepidoptororum Catalogus by L.B. Prout (1912b) and in Seitz's Macrolepidoptera of the World by L.B. Prout (1921). Turner (1929, 1930a, 1930b) published a thorough revision of the subfamily in Australia which is still the most useful reference to the Australian fauna. Turner subsequently added further species but the subfamily has not been revised since.
A group of slender-bodied moths was placed by McQuillan and Edwards (1996) in the Oenochrominae sensu lato also with many Australian genera including Taxeotis Guest and Dichromodes Guenée but also occurring in the Oriental area and in Africa. Then there are some genera from Africa and South East Asia reaching Australia including Eumelea Walker and Celerena Duncan [and Westwood] which have been traditionally placed in the subfamily.
Oenochrominae sensu lato as defined here contains the following genera, but see also comments on recent research on this subfamily under Epidesmiinae.
Aglossophanes Turner, 1942
Antasia Warren, 1894
Axiagasta Turner, 1930
Cathaemacta Turner, 1929
Celerena Walker, 1862
Cernia Walker, 1860
Encryphia Turner, 1904
Physetostege Warren, 1896
Tapinogyna L.B. Prout, 1910
Taxeotis Guest, 1887
Zeuctophlebia Warren, 1896
The Oenochrominae sensu stricto are a predominantly Australasian group and most species are found in southern Australia. They contain the robust bodied moths of Oenochroma Guenée and Monoctenia Guenée and related genera. This group is mostly Australian.These oenochromines resemble each other superficially and have general morphological similarities in genitalia and wing venation, but Scoble and Edwards (1990) were unable to define synapomorphies for the group. Nonetheless they are characterised by the following features: robust bodies, well developed uncus and gnathos, broad valvae that sometimes bear various sclerotisations and a well-developed anellus. In most taxa the fultura superior fuses with the transtilla to form a rigid plate (Scoble & Edwards 1990). Food plants are from the Proteaceae and Myrtaceae (especially Eucalyptus) although Phallaria has also been recorded feeding on Acacia P. Mill. (Leguminosae) and Dodonaea L. (Sapindaceae) (McFarland 1988). The antennae of Proteaceae feeders are generally unipectinate and Myrtaceae feeders bipectinate (Holloway 2003); although an exception is the male of the eucalypt feeding Monoctenia smerintheria Felder & Rogenhofer, which has unipectinate antennae. Larvae often have an extra pair of vestigial prolegs on A5 (an exception is Phallaria ophiusaria Guenée (Anderson 1902)]. The pupae usually have only a single apical pair of robust and divergent cremastral setae (McFarland 1988). Common (1990) figured examples of many of these genera and gave much biological information. The only Australian genera to be recently revised were Parepisparis Bethune-Baker by Scoble & Edwards (1990) and Ozola Walker by Scoble & Sommerer (1998).
Commenting on the separation of Oenochrominae into two informal groups, Oenochrominae ss. and Oenochrominae sl., Edwards (pers comm. June 2012) says "the division is still useful but Oenochrominae (stout bodied) and Oenochrominae (slender bodied) would be a better terminology. Some of the slender bodied genera in Oenochrominae in Nielsen et al have now been separated as the Desmobathrinae"
General References
Anderson, E. 1902. Notes on the moths Gastrophora henrucaria and Phallaria ophiusaria. The Victorian Naturalist 19: 59–62
Common, I.F.B. 1990. Moths of Australia. Carlton : Melbourne University Press vi+535 pp., 32 pls.
Holloway, J.D. 2003. Biological images of geological history: through a glass darkly or brightly face to face?. Journal of Biogeography 30: 165–179
McQuillan, P.B. & Edwards, E.D. 1996. Geometridae. pp. 200-228 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.
Meyrick, E. 1890. Revision of Australian Lepidoptera. III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 2-n.s. 4(4): 1117-1216 [year of publication not confirmed] [1136] (as Monocteniadae)
Prout, L.B. 1910. Geometridae. Subfam. Oenochrominae. Genera Insectorum 104: 1-120, pls 1, 2
Prout, L.B. 1912. Geometridae: Brephinae, Oenochrominae. Lepidopterorum Catalogus 8: 1-94
Prout, L.B. 1921. Oenochrominae. 5-12 (1920), 13-43 (1921), pls 1-4 in Seitz, A. (ed.). [1920-1921]. The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 12. The Indoaustralian Geometridae. 2 vols. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Verlag 1-191, 309-316, 349-356 pp., 1-34, 36-41, 50 pls.
Scoble, M.J. & Edwards, E.D. 1990. Parepisparis Bethune-Baker, and the composition of the Oenochrominae (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). Entomologica Scandinavica 20: 371-399
Scoble, M.J. & Sommerer, M.D. 1988. A new species of Ozola (Geometridae) from Sumatra. Heterocera Sumatrana 2: 67-73
Turner, A.J. 1929. Revision of Australian Oenochromidae (Lepidoptera). I. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 54: 463-504
Turner, A.J. 1930a. Revision of Australian Oenochromidae (Lepidoptera). II. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 55: 1-40
Turner, A.J. 1930b. Revision of Australian Oenochromidae (Lepidoptera). III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 55: 191-220
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05-Jun-2024 | GEOMETROIDEA | 19-Sep-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Cathy Byrne |
| 21-Feb-2022 | GEOMETROIDEA | 09-Apr-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Cathy Byrne (TMAG) Di Moyle (TMAG) |
| 21-Feb-2022 | 28-Jun-2012 | MODIFIED | ||
| 09-Mar-2010 | MODIFIED |