Eugraphe | |
---|---|
Eugraphe sigma imago | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Division: | Ditrysia |
Section: | Cossina |
Family: | Noctuidae |
Subfamily: | Noctuinae |
Tribe: | Xestiini (disputed) |
Genus: |
Eugraphe Hübner, [1821] |
Type species | |
Noctua sigma [Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775 |
|
Diversity | |
Possibly monotypic, but see text | |
Synonyms | |
Eugrapha (lapsus) |
Eugrapha (lapsus)
and see text
Eugraphe is a genus of noctuid moths (family Noctuidae). They belong to the tribe Xestiini of the typical noctuid subfamily Noctuinae, though some do not separate this tribe and include the genus in the Noctuini. It is closely related to Anagnorisma, Coenophila and Eugnorisma, and as it seems most closely to the first of these (see also below). The geographic range is Palearctic, north of the Alpides but including the Caucasus, and between the Arctic and the arid lands of Central Asia.
Serving for some time to assemble some more or less superficially Xestiini, more recently most species have been moved elsewhere, e.g. to the newly established Goniographa and Pseudohermonassa, to the revalidated Ammogrotis, Coenophila and Hypernaenia (which had all been included in Eugraphe earlier), or to the long-known Xestia (though placement there is still provisional). Indeed, it may be that the genus is monotypic, or turn out to be better considered a junior synonym or some earlier-described taxon. On the other hand, considering it was established early in the 19th century, it might also eventually come to include later-described genera as junior synonyms. And of course, given that Noctuidae are still being described on a regular basis, additional as yet discovered species might exist.