Family TINEODIDAE

Tineodidae

Museums

Museum list

Regional Maps

Family TINEODIDAE

Compiler and date details

Names and Introductions taken from Nielsen et al. (1996). - Michael Shaffer & Ebbe S. Nielsen

Oxychirotidae.

Introduction

[After Shaffer & Nielsen 1996]
Tineodidae were first known from Australia from the species Tineodes adactylalsis Guenée, 1854. In the 19th century, 4 more species were added, and a further 8 species in teh 20th century. About 10 described species are known from elsewhere in the world and several undescribed species are recognised from Australia.

The family was originally described by Meyrick in 1885 for the genus Tineodes. The family Oxychirotidae, also described by Meyrick in 1885 for his genus Oxychirota and later mistakenly transferred to the Gracillariidae, is now regarded as being synonymous with Tineodidae. Common (1990) gives a detailed history of the family and a further analysis is found in Minet (1991).

Common (1990) gives the following foodplant records for Australian species: Palaeodes samealis on leaves of Jasminum volubile; Euthrausta oxyprora on leaves of Glochidion ferdinandi; Cenoloba obliteralis in the developing cotyledons of seeds of Avicennia marina.

The family exhibits a variety of wing forms, from the narrow-winged Oxychirota to split-winged Cenoloba showing a similarity to Pterophoridae, and solid-winged genera such as Anomima, Palaeodes, Epharpastis, Euthesaura, Tineodes, Euthrausta and Tanycnema. The misleading appearance of this latter group led Hampson in 1899 to place Tineodes in the Pyralidae, Agroterinae (= Pyraustinae). Further research is needed on the taxonomy of this group. In particular, the genus Tanycnema, known at present from one described and one undescribed species, bears a strong superficial resemblance to Agdistopis Hampson (Macropiratidae), the sister-group of the Pterophoridae.