Smerinthus
| Smerinthus | |
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| Smerinthus ocellatus type species for the genus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Sphingidae |
| Subfamily: | Smerinthinae |
| Genus: |
Smerinthus Latreille, 1802 |
| Synonyms | |
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Smerinthus is a Holarctic genus of hawkmoths in the family Sphingidae. It was described by Latreille in 1802. Adults have conspicuous eye spots on the hind wings.
The name Smerinthus is apparently derived from the Greek feminine noun 'Merinthos', but has been Latinised with the masculine -us ending and is thus, according to the ICZN article 30.1.3, masculine. As the ICZN rules that species names that are adjectives should agree in gender with the genus name, the common use of Smerinthus ocellata for the widespread European species Smerinthus ocellatus is incorrect.
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