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Austramathes squaliolus
Austramathes squaliolus is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found only in the Chatham Islands on the Chatham, Pitt, Little Mangere and Rangatira Islands. The larvae of A. squaliolus is similarly patterned to the larvae of A. fortis and have lateral yellow markings that contrast with the dark dorsal marbling. However this marbling is darker in A. squaliolus in comparison to the lighter coloured A. fortis. Melicytus chathamicus is the larval host-plant for this species. The adult moth is again very similar in appearance to A. fortis and, as with A. fortis, the black line curved at the forewing base is the distinguishing feature. However the two species are unlikely to be confused as their ranges do not overlap. The adult moths are on the wing in November and December and have been observed flying at dusk.
From the article Austramathes squaliolus on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The larvae of this species are bright coloured. They are similarly patterned to the larvae of A. fortis and have lateral yellow markings that contrast with the dark dorsal marbling. This marbling is darker in this species in comparison to the lighter A. fortis. The adult moth has a wingspan of between 25–31 mm. In appearance the adult moth is again very similar to A. fortis and, as with A. fortis, the black line curved at the forewing base is the distinguishing feature. The genitalia of the male of A. squaliolus differs from that of A. fortis. The two species are unlikely to be confused as their ranges do not overlap.
Range & habitat
This species is endemic to the Chatham Islands and is fairly common. It has been found on the following islands: Chatham, Pitt, Little Mangere and Rangatira.
Wikipedia: “Distribution”
What it does
Adult moths are on the wing in the months of November and December. Adults have been observed flying at dusk in the vicinity of their larval host-plant.
Wikipedia: “Behaviour”
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Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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Every page naming Austramathes squaliolus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 551061.