Nacophorini
| Nacophorini | |
|---|---|
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|
| Mnesampela privata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Hexapoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| (unranked): | Macrolepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Geometroidea |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Subfamily: | Ennominae |
| Tribe: |
Nacophorini Forbes, 1948 |
| Type genus | |
|
Nacophora Hulst, 1896 |
|
| Genera | |
|
Many, see text |
|
Many, see text
The Nacophorini are one of the smaller tribes of geometer moths in the subfamily Ennominae. They are the most diverse Ennominae of Australia and are widespread in the Americas. If the African genera tentatively placed herein indeed belong here, the distribution of the Nacophorini is distinctly Gondwanan, with their probable origin either of Australia, South America or even Antarctica (which was not ice-covered until a few million years ago). In Eurasia, they are rare by comparison.
Despite the lack of thorough study of this tribe in modern times, as traditionally delimited they are probably nearly monophyletic, requiring only a few genera to be moved in and out of this group to make it correspond to a clade; as this involves the type species, the correct name for this clade might be Lithinini or maybe Campaeini, which are both liable to be eventually merged with the Nacophorini. The Azelinini, Ennomini and perhaps the Caberini are probably their closest living relatives, and a more radical approach to monophyly would be to merge the Nacophorini, Lithinini and possibly the Campaeini into the Ennomini.
Nacophorini are generally robust and quite hairy geometer moths, though some species are more delicate. Exceptional among their subfamily, many have slim wings. They typically rest with the hindwings tucked under the forewings. Nacophorini have long antennae, and most if not all have terminal sensillae shaped like stout pegs and sensillae basiconicae on the flagellomeres or rami. The "horn" between the antenna sockets which is present in many geometer moths is usually exceptionally well-developed in the Nacophorini. Some have a crest of thorns on their thorax, and a few have a spine at the tip of their foreleg tibia. The hindleg tibia is usually swollen in males, which also often have a "penciltip" of hairs tucked into a groove. Together with a comb of setae on the third abdominal segment, these structures probably serve to distribute pheromones, and while the abdominal comb is found in many Ennominae, the full set of structures is rarely found outside of the Nacophorini, which usually possess at least a swollen tibia or tibial "pencil", and often both.
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Wikipedia