Williella
Encyclopedia
Williella is a genus of moth
s belonging to the subfamily Tortricinae
of the family Tortricidae
.
genus
Williella, family
Tortricidae
, subfamily Tortricinae
, was established in 1984 to accommodate two newly-described
species
from New Caledonia
: Williella sauteri and Williella angulata.
Williella was tentatively assigned to the base of the Archipini
. Phylogenetic analysis of their plesiomorphic morphology
suggested that Williella species are members of a group of isolated and generalized moths from Australia
, New Zealand
and South America
.
The discovery of the genus in New Caledonia suggested that these plesiomorphic modern Tortricinae are isolated descendants of a group of very generalized Tortricinae that were distributed throughout the Gondwana
supercontinent
before it broke up into many of the main modern landmasses
of the Southern Hemisphere.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s belonging to the subfamily Tortricinae
Tortricinae
The Tortricinae are the nominate subfamily of tortrix moths. Commonly referred to as leafrollers, as the larvae build shelters by folding or rolling leaves of the food plant, the tortricinae include several notable pests as well species used as biological control agents against invasive...
of the family Tortricidae
Tortricidae
Tortricidae is a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths, in the order Lepidoptera. Tortricidae is a large family with over 9,400 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea. Many of these are economically important pests. Olethreutidae is a junior synonym...
.
Details
The mothMoth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Williella, family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Tortricidae
Tortricidae
Tortricidae is a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths, in the order Lepidoptera. Tortricidae is a large family with over 9,400 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea. Many of these are economically important pests. Olethreutidae is a junior synonym...
, subfamily Tortricinae
Tortricinae
The Tortricinae are the nominate subfamily of tortrix moths. Commonly referred to as leafrollers, as the larvae build shelters by folding or rolling leaves of the food plant, the tortricinae include several notable pests as well species used as biological control agents against invasive...
, was established in 1984 to accommodate two newly-described
Species description
A species description or type description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species which have been described previously, or are...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
from New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
: Williella sauteri and Williella angulata.
Williella was tentatively assigned to the base of the Archipini
Archipini
The Archipini are a tribe of tortrix moths. Since many genera of these are not yet assigned to tribes, the genus list presented here is provisional. Many of the economically important pests among the tortrix moths belong to this tribe, for example the Light brown apple moth and the spruce...
. Phylogenetic analysis of their plesiomorphic morphology
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
suggested that Williella species are members of a group of isolated and generalized moths from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.
The discovery of the genus in New Caledonia suggested that these plesiomorphic modern Tortricinae are isolated descendants of a group of very generalized Tortricinae that were distributed throughout the Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
supercontinent
Supercontinent
In geology, a supercontinent is a landmass comprising more than one continental core, or craton. The assembly of cratons and accreted terranes that form Eurasia qualifies as a supercontinent today.-History:...
before it broke up into many of the main modern landmasses
Landmass
A landmass is a contiguous area of land surrounded by ocean. Although it may be most often written as one word to distinguish it from the usage "land mass"—the measure of land area—it is also used as two words.Landmasses include:*supercontinents...
of the Southern Hemisphere.
Species
- Williella angulata Horak, 1984
- Williella sauteri Horak, 1984