Abstract
The New World fauna of Zeuzerinae remains insufficiently studied in faunistic and biogeographical terms, despite the economic importance of some species and the broad distribution of the subfamily. It currently comprises 45 valid species in 10 genera, including the introduced species Zeuzera pyrina. The present study is based on museum material, literature data, and verified publicly available occurrence records. Using these data, we characterise the geographical distribution of the subfamily in the New World, identify the principal distribution patterns of its species, evaluate taxonomic diversity across major biogeographical units, countries, and biomes, identify the main centres of endemism, compare faunal similarity among regions, and assess the distinctiveness of the New World fauna in relation to other parts of the world.
References
Aguila RN, Cañamero AB (2012) A list of Cuban Lepidoptera (Arthropoda: Insecta). Zootaxa 3384: 1–59. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3384.1.1
Barnes W, McDunnough JH (1910) New North American Cossidae. Entomological News 21: 463–466.
Barnes W, McDunnough JH (1911) Revision of the Cossidae of North America. Contributions to the Natural History of the Lepidoptera of North America 1: 1–36.
Becker VO, Miller SE (2002) The large moths of Guana Island, British Virgin Islands: A survey of efficient colonizers (Sphingidae, Notodontidae, Noctuidae, Arctiidae, Geometridae, Hyblaeidae, Cossidae). Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 56(1): 9–44.
Britton WE, Cromie GA (1911) The leopard moth. Zeuzera pyrina Linn. (= aesculi Linn.). Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 169: 3–24.
Burmeister HCC (1878) Description physique de la République Argentine d'après des observations personnelles et étrangères. Vol. 5, part 1: Diurnes, Crépusculaires et Bombycoides. Buenos Ayres.
Cramer P ([1780]) De uitlandsche kapellen voorkomende in de drie waereld-deelen Asia, Africa en America. Vol. 3. Amsterdam, 105–176, pls 253–288.
Dognin P (1891) Diagnoses de quelques Hétérocères du Venezuela. Naturaliste 13: 121.
Dognin P (1911) Hétérocères nouveaux de l'Amérique du Sud. Fascicule II. Oberthür & Fils, Rennes, 56 pp.
Dognin P (1916) Hétérocères nouveaux de l’Amérique du Sud. Fascicule IX. Oberthür & Fils, Rennes, 36 pp.
Doll J (1882) Zeuzera aesculi, L. Papilio 2(2): 34.
Donahue JP (1980) Resurrection of the genus Morpheis (Cossidae), with description of a new species in the cognatus group from southern Arizona. Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 34(2): 173–181.
Donahue JP (1995) Cossidae. In: Heppner JB (Ed.) Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Checklist: Part 2. Hyblaeoidea, Pyraloidea, Tortricoidea. Association for Tropical Lepidoptera, Gainesville, 122–126.
Dyar HG (1906) Descriptions of new North American moths and larvae. Science Bulletin of the Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences 1(8): 193–201.
Dyar HG (1910) Descriptions of some new species and genera from Mexico. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 38: 229–273.
Dyar HG (1914) Report on the Lepidoptera of the Smithsonian Biological Survey of the Panama Canal Zone. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 47: 139–350.
Dyar HG (1918) Descriptions of new Lepidoptera from Mexico. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 54: 335–372.
Dyar HG (1925) Some new American moths (Lepidoptera). Insecutor Inscitiae Menstruus 13: 1–19.
Dyar HG (1940) Cossidae. In: Seitz A (Ed.) Die Gross-schmetterlinge der Erde. Band 6: Die amerikanischen Spinner und Schwarmer. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart, 1265–1285.
Escalante T, Rodríguez-Tapia G, Morrone JJ (2021) Toward a biogeographic regionalization of the Nearctic region: Area nomenclature and digital map. Zootaxa 5027(3): 351–375. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5027.3.3
Felder R (1874–1875) Lepidoptera. In: Reise der österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859 unter den Befehlen des Commodore B. von Wüllerstorf-Urbair. Zoologischer Theil. Band 2, Abtheilung 2: Lepidoptera. Heft IV–V. Atlas der Heterocera Sphingida–Noctuida. Wien, i–vi, 1–10, 1–20, 140 pls.
GBIF.org (15 March 2025a) GBIF Occurrence Download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.67dwa7
GBIF.org (16 March 2025b) GBIF Occurrence Download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.uyruwx
Grote AR (1866 [1865]) Notes on the Bombycidae of Cuba. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia 5: 227–260.
Hampson GF (1898) The moths of the Lesser Antilles. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London: 241–260.
Hampson GF (1904) The Lepidoptera-Phalaenae of the Bahamas. Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Series 7 (14): 165–188.
Herrich-Schäffer GAW (1850–1858) Sammlung neuer oder wenig bekannter aussereuropäischer Schmetterlinge. Regensburg, 58 pp., 148 pls.
Houlbert C (1916) Sur la distribution géographique des Xyleutes (Lép. Zeuzeridæ) et de- scription de sept espèces nouvelles. Études de Lépidoptérologie Comparée, Fascicule 11 bis: 63–120.
iNaturalist.org (30 November 2025) New World Zeuzerinae Observations (Collection Project). Available online: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/new-world-zeuzerinae-observations
Jaccard P (1902) Lois de distribution florale dans la zone alpine. Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles 38: 69–130.
Lindsey AW (1926) Lepidoptera collected by the Barbados-Antigua Expedition from the University of Iowa in 1918. University of Iowa Studies in Natural History 6(7): 33–35.
Miller JY, Matthews DL, Warren AD, Solis MA, Harvey DJ (2012) An annotated list of the Lepidoptera of Honduras. Insecta Mundi 205: 1–72.
Morrone JJ (2014) Biogeographical regionalisation of the Neotropical region. Zootaxa 3782(1): 1–110. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3782.1.1
Morrone JJ (2015a) Biogeographical regionalisation of the world: a reappraisal. Australian Systematic Botany 28: 81–90. https://doi.org/10.1071/SB14042
Morrone JJ (2015b) Biogeographical regionalisation of the Andean region. Zootaxa 3936(2): 207–236. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3936.2.3
Myers N (1988) Threatened biotas: "hot spots" in tropical forests. Environmentalist 8: 187–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02240252
Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, da Fonseca GAB, Kent J (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403(6772): 853–858. https://doi.org/10.1038/35002501
Naydenov AE, Yakovlev RV, Penco FC (2019) A new genus and species of the subfamily Zeuzerinae Boisduval, [1828] (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) from Brazil. Russian Entomological Journal 28(1): 82–83. https://doi.org/10.15298/rusentj.28.1.13
Naydenov AE, Yakovlev RV, Penco FC (2021a) A new species of the genus Morpheis Hübner, [1820] from Brazil and Peru (Lepidoptera: Cossidae). Ecologica Montenegrina 42: 125–129. https://doi.org/10.37828/em.2021.42.10
Naydenov AE, Yakovlev RV, Delvalée JP, Deknuydt F, Penco FC (2021b) Description of the female of Brypoctia punctifer (Hampson, 1898) (Lepidoptera: Cossidae: Zeuzerinae). Ecologica Montenegrina 45: 6–11. https://doi.org/10.37828/em.2021.45.2
Naydenov AE, Yakovlev RV, Penco FC (2021c) Redescription and review of the Neotropical genus Carohamilia Dyar, 1940 (Lepidoptera: Cossidae: Zeuzerinae). Zootaxa 4985(4): 557–563. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4985.4.8
Naydenov AE, Yakovlev RV, Penco FC (2024) Taxonomic status of the genus Hamilcara Barnes et McDunnough, 1910 (Lepidoptera: Cossidae: Zeuzerinae). Invertebrate Zoology 21(3): 394–397. https://doi.org/10.15298/invertzool.21.3.11
Naydenov AE, Yakovlev RV, Penco FC (2025) Review of genera Psychonoctua Grote, 1865 and Schreiteriana Fletcher et Nye, 1982 (Lepidoptera: Cossidae: Zeuzerinae). Ecologica Montenegrina 82: 149–168. https://doi.org/10.37828/em.2025.82.11
Olson DM, Dinerstein E, Wikramanayake ED, Burgess ND, Powell GVN, Underwood EC, D'Amico JA, Itoua I, Strand HE, Morrison JC, Loucks CJ, Allnutt TF, Ricketts TH, Kura Y, Lamoreux JF, Wettengel WW, Hedao P, Kassem KR (2001) Terrestrial ecoregions of the world: A new map of life on Earth. BioScience 51(11): 933–938. https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0933:TEOTWA]2.0.CO;2
Penco FC, Yakovlev RV, Witt ThJ (2016) Taxonomic notes on the genera Brypoctia Schoorl, 1990 and Schreiteriana Fletcher & Nye, 1982 (Lepidoptera: Cossidae). Zootaxa 4205(3): 297–300. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4205.3.10
Percheron AR, Guérin-Méneville FÉ (1835–1838) Genera des insectes, ou exposition détaillée de tous les caractères propres à chacun des genres de cette classe d’animaux. Livraison 6: Lépidoptères. Méquignon-Marvis, Paris, unpaginated.
Schaus W (1894) On new species of Heterocera from Tropical America. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London: 225–243.
Schaus W (1901) New species of Heterocera from tropical America. I. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 9: 40–48.
Schaus W (1911) New species of Heterocera from Costa Rica. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 8, 7: 612–634.
Schaus W (1921) New species of Lepidoptera in the United States National Museum. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 59: 349–396.
Schaus W (1934) New species of Heterocera from Tropical America. Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Series 10 (14): 79–115.
Schoorl JW (1990) A phylogenetic study on Cossidae (Lepidoptera: Ditrysia) based on external adult morphology. Zoologische Verhandelingen 263: 1–295.
Turner AJ (1918) Observations on the lepidopterous family Cossidae and on the classification of the Lepidoptera. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London: 155–190.
Walker F (1856) List of the specimens of lepidopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Vol. VII: Lepidoptera Heterocera. Printed by order of the Trustees, London.
Yakovlev RV, Penco FC, Witt ThJ (2016) Redescription of genus Psychonoctua Grote, 1865 (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Cossidae: Zeuzerinae). Biological Bulletin of Bogdan Chmelnitskiy Melitopol State Pedagogical University 6(3): 46–50. https://doi.org/10.15421/201669
Yakovlev RV, Penco FC, Witt ThJ (2017) Five new species of the genus Schreiteriana Fletcher et Nye, 1982 (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) from Peru and Colombia (South America). Russian Entomological Journal 26(4): 339–342. https://doi.org/10.15298/rusentj.26.4.07
Yakovlev RV, Sinev SYu, Naydenov AE, Penco FC, Witt ThJ (2019a) Redescription of the genus Allocryptobia Viette, 1951 (Lepidoptera: Cossidae). SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología 47(186): 261–268. https://doi.org/10.57065/shilap.566
Yakovlev RV, Penco FC, Witt ThJ (2019b) Review of the genus Brypoctia Schoorl, 1990 (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) with descriptions of five new species from Central and South America. Entomological Review 99(3): 407–415. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0013873819030138
Yakovlev RV, Naydenov AE, Penco FC (2020a) Klagesiana gen. n. – new genus of carpenter-moths (Lepidoptera: Cossidae: Zeuzerinae) from Brazil. Ecologica Montenegrina 27: 69–73. https://doi.org/10.37828/em.2020.27.8
Yakovlev RV, Naydenov AE, Penco FC (2020b) Ceuroma Yakovlev, Naydenov & Penco, gen.n. – a new genus of Neotropical Zeuzerinae (Lepidoptera: Cossidae). SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología 48(191): 473–479. https://doi.org/10.57065/shilap.375
Yakovlev RV, Penco FC, Naydenov AE (2020c) Three new species of the genus Psychonoctua Grote, 1865 from Argentina and the Caribbean Islands (Lepidoptera: Cossidae: Zeuzerinae). SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología 48(191): 499–505. https://doi.org/10.57065/shilap.363
Yakovlev RV, Naydenov AE, Penco FC (2021) Schreiteriana klagesi sp. n. (Lepidoptera: Cossidae, Zeuzerinae) from Brazil. Russian Entomological Journal 30(3): 336–338. https://doi.org/10.15298/rusentj.30.3.12

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

