Trichome

Apatelodidae
Apatelodes torrefacta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Bombycoidea
Family: Apatelodidae
Neumoegen & Dyar, 1894[1]
Synonyms
  • Apatelodinae
  • Zanolidae McDunnough, 1938[1]

Apatelodidae, the American silkworm moths, is a family of insects in the order Lepidoptera. They are a family within the superfamily Bombycoidea,[2][1] though they have in the past been considered a subfamily of Bombycidae.

Distribution[edit]

Species are exclusively found in the New World, with the highest diversity in the Neotropical realm.

Diversity[edit]

Apatelodidae is undergoing taxonomic and phylogenetic revision,[3] as a result of which the exact numbers of genera and species included have been subject to frequent change. "A global checklist of the Bombycoidea" (Kitching et al. 2018) lists twelve genera and 182 species for the family.[1][4]

Not included in the checklist are taxonomic changes that occurred shortly before, or since, publication. Some examples of such changes are the addition of genera Arotros (transferred from Bombycidae in 2019)[4] and Asocia (newly described in 2021)[5] to Apatelodidae, the synonymization of Apatelodes florisa to Apatelodes schreiteri,[3] or the description of several new species such as Apatelodes navarroi,[3] Pantelodes camacana,[6] and seven new species of Arotros.[7]

Taxonomy[edit]

Apatelodidae has historically been placed as subfamily Apatelodinae within the Bombycidae, alongside Phiditiinae and Epiinae. Recent revisions of the taxonomy of Bombycoidea have seen both Apatelodidae and Phiditiidae elevated to separate families within the superfamily, while Epiinae remains a subfamily of Bombycidae. During those taxonomical revisions, several genera formerly placed in Apatelodinae—such as Anticla and Quentalia—were transferred to Epiinae.[4]

Genera[edit]

The list below follows the 2018 Global Checklist of Bombycoidea of Kitching et al,[1] with exception of changes since, in which case an additional reference is given.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Kitching, Ian; Rougerie, Rodolphe; Zwick, Andreas; Hamilton, Chris; Laurent, Ryan St; Naumann, Stefan; Mejia, Liliana Ballesteros; Kawahara, Akito (2 December 2018). "A global checklist of the Bombycoidea (Insecta: Lepidoptera)". Biodiversity Data Journal. 6 (6). Data Resources; Supplementary material: checklist. doi:10.3897/BDJ.6.e22236. ISSN 1314-2828. PMC 5904559. PMID 29674935.
  2. ^ Zwick, Andreas; Regier, Jerome C.; Mitter, Charles; Cummings, Michael P. (2010-09-30). "Increased gene sampling yields robust support for higher-level clades within Bombycoidea (Lepidoptera)". Systematic Entomology. 36: 31–43. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2010.00543.x. S2CID 86331826.
  3. ^ a b c Herbin, Daniel; Beccacece, Hernán Mario (8 October 2018). "Description of three new species of Apatelodidae from the southern neotropical region (Lepidoptera, Bombycoidea)". ZooKeys (788): 3–17. Bibcode:2018ZooK..788....3H. doi:10.3897/zookeys.788.25323. PMC 6189227. PMID 30337820.
  4. ^ a b c d Hamilton, C. A.; St Laurent, R. A.; Dexter, K.; Kitching, I. J.; Breinholt, J. W.; Zwick, A.; Timmermans, M. J. T. N.; Barber, J. R.; Kawahara, A. Y. (December 2019). "Phylogenomics resolves major relationships and reveals significant diversification rate shifts in the evolution of silk moths and relatives". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 19 (1): 182. Bibcode:2019BMCEE..19..182H. doi:10.1186/s12862-019-1505-1. PMC 6751749. PMID 31533606.
  5. ^ a b Herbin, Daniel (2021). "New species of Apatelodidae (Lepidoptera: Bombycoidea) from Andean countries". The European Entomologist. 13 (1). Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  6. ^ Orlandin, Elton; Carneiro, Eduardo (4 October 2021). "A new species of Pantelodes (Lepidoptera: Bombycoidea: Apatelodidae) from Southern Bahia, Brazil". Zootaxa. 5047 (5): 589–595. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5047.5.9. PMID 34810820. S2CID 244222233. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  7. ^ Herbin, D.; Orlandin, E.; Carneiro, E. (2021). "Taxonomic revision of Arotros Schaus, 1892 with description of seven new species (Lepidoptera: Apatelodidae)". Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo. 42 (3). Abstract. Retrieved 29 August 2022.

External links[edit]

  • ACG Page of images of Apatelodidae from Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

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