Family SYMMOCIDAE

Symmocidae

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Introduction

[Modified after Common in Nielsen et al. (1996: 115)].
This relatively small primarily Palaearctic and Afrotropical family (Gozmány 1957) was first reported for Australia by Common (1996). While the definition of the family as well as its relationship with the Hocopogonidae and Xyloryctinae is unresolved, Nemotyla Nielsen, McQuillan & Common is here placed in Symmocidae since it shares with members of that family the specialised abdominal sternum II with a pocket of long hair-scales in the males (Gozmány 1975, structura sertiformis of Leraut 1992), male abdominal sternum II without apodemes and morhology of the uncus and gnathos of the male genitalia; the prominent spines on the abdominal terga of Nemotyla may indicate that the Australian taxon is a primative member of the Oegoconiinae (J. Minet, in litt.).

The Tasmanian cushion plant moth Nemotyla oribates Nielsen, McQuillan & Common, 1992 is the only identified possible Australian member of the family (Nielsen et al. 1992). This alpine species occurs locally at high population densities in Tasmania; the larvae tunnel in cushion and matforming plants.

General References

Common, I.F.B. 1996. Symmocidae. p. 115 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.

Gozmány, L.A. 1957. The family Symmocidae and the description of new taxa mainly from the near East (Lepidoptera). Acta Zoologica Hungarica 9: 67-134

Leraut, P. 1992. Redéfinition de certains taxa du groupe-famille appartenant aux Gelechioidea (Lep.). Entomologica Gallica 3: 129-138

Nielsen, E.S., McQuillan, P.B. & Common, I.F.B. 1992. The Tasmanian cushion plant moth Nemotyla oribates gen. n., sp. n.: systematics and biology (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae: Xyloryctinae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 31: 47-56

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