Phalaena Alucita Linnaeus, 1758

Binomial nomenclature for animals begins with the 10th edition of Linnaeus Systema Naturae. On page 343 of this volume, Linnaeus divided all Lepidoptera into three genera:

• Papilio – Butterflies
• Sphinx – Hawkmoths
• Phalaena – All other moths

He further divided Phalaena into seven subgroups:

• Phalaena Bombyx – Various bombycoid, noctuoid and cossid moths
• Phalaena Noctua – Various noctuoid, cossid and hepialid moths
• Phalaena Geometra – Mostly geometrid moths
• Phalaena Tortrix – Mostly torticid moths
• Phalaena Pyralis – Various pyraloid and noctuoid moths
• Phalaena Tinea – Various smaller Lepidoptera
• Phalaena Alucita – Six moths with divided wings

The subgroups listed above have been treated by modern taxonomy as seven genera: Bombyx, Noctua, Geometra, Tortrix, Pyralis, Tinea and Alucita. The boundaries and definitions of each of these genera have developed with further taxonomic research.

The species under Phalaena Alucita were presented as a series running from monodactyla, i.e. “one-fingered”, through to hexadactyla, i.e. “six-fingered”. Unfortunately, as with most other genera proposed in 1758, these six do not form a good clade. The first five fall within the modern Pterophoridae and last within the family currently known as Alucitidae. As these two families were separated, different taxonomists made different choices around which family should keep the name Alucita.

As a result, until well into the last century, different taxonomists used a mixture of the following names and typification schemes.

In 1964, ICZN Opinion 703 settled on the final arrangement, but large numbers of Pterophoridae (particularly species in the tribe Pterophorini) were originally named in Alucita. More than 100 species in today’s Alucita were originally described in Orneodes.