Australian Biological Resources Study

Australian Faunal Directory

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Family MICROPTERIGIDAE


Compiler and date details

February 2012 - ABRS, following advice from Ted Edwards, Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences

28 June 2007 - E.D. (Ted) Edwards, CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, Australia

Introduction

Adults of this family have functional mandibles and are without a proboscis. The family is the only one in the suborder Zeugloptera and is regarded as the sister-group of all other Lepidoptera. It was previously regarded as a separate order (Kristensen 1984c).

The Australian fauna was updated recently with the publication by Gibbs (2010) who recognised 3 new genera for Australian species, transferred the 3 previously known species from Sabatinca, one each to to Austromartyria Gibbs, 2010, Aureopterix Gibbs, 2010 and Tasmatrix Gibbs, 2010. Gibbs described six new species, assigned to Tasmantrix.

In Australia 3 larvae of Austromartyria have been collected in NE Queensalnd, "obtained by heat extraction from teh periphyton layer on rotten logs" (Gibbs 2010). Larvae attributed to Tasmantrix have also been discvered, similarly heat extracted from "swamp litter, moss, tussocks, sods, etc", in SE New South Wales (Gibbs 2010).

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
28-Feb-2012 28-Nov-2018 MODIFIED
12-Feb-2010 (import)