Description
Family Sphingidae
'The Sphingidae belong to the Superfamily
Sphingoidea. Members
of this family
are commonly called "hummingbird," "sphinx," or "hawk" moths, and some can be mistaken for hummingbirds. Most are medium to large moths, with heavy bodies; wingspread reaches
5 inches or more in some species. The Sphingidae are strong
and fast fliers, with a rapid wingbeat. Most species in the group are active
at dusk, and most feed
much like hummingbirds, hovering in front of a flower and sipping nectar through the extended proboscis. The proboscis rolls up when not in use. Some species lack scales
on large portions of their wings, resulting in transparent or clear wings. In most species, the larval stage
is called a "hornworm" because the caterpillar''s posterior end has a harmless hook or hornlike appendage
protruding upward. Unfortunately, the caterpillar of some species can be very destructive to agricultural crops
and ornamental
plantings
.
'[1]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
()
- Aguinaldo Et Al., 1997 Ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
()
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
()
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
()
- Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
()
- Heymons, 1901
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
()
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
()
- Class:
Insecta
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Insects
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
()
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
()
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
()
- Superorder:
Amphiesmenoptera
()
- Order:
Lepidoptera
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Butterflies and Moths
- Suborder:
Glossata
()
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
()
- Superfamily:
Sphingoidea
()
- Family:
Sphingidae
()
- Samouelle, 1819
- Sphinx Moths
- Genus:
Xylophanes
()
- Specific name:
titana
- Druce 1878
- Scientific name: - Xylophanes titana Druce 1878
- Specific name:
titana
- Druce 1878
- Genus:
Xylophanes
(
- Family:
Sphingidae
(
- Superfamily:
Sphingoidea
(
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Suborder:
Glossata
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Superorder:
Amphiesmenoptera
(
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Class:
Insecta
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Notes
Name Status: Provisionally Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Beccaloni G.
Similar Species
Members of the genus Xylophanes
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 166 species and subspecies in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:
X. acrus · X. adalia · X. agilis · X. aglaor · X. alcides · X. alegrensis · X. amadis · X. amadis goeldi · X. amadis meridanus · X. amadis stuarti · X. anubus · X. aristor · X. arpi · X. batus · X. belti · X. bilineata · X. boerhaviae · X. bottgeri · X. brevis · X. butus · X. caissa · X. cantel · X. capreolus · X. ceratomioides · X. ceratomoides (Brown and Yellow Sphinx) · X. chiron · X. chironnechus · X. chiron lucianus · X. clarki · X. colombiana · X. continentalis · X. cosmius · X. cosmius obscurus · X. croesus · X. crotonis · X. crotonis aristor · X. cubanus · X. cubensis · X. curvata · X. cyrene · X. damocrita · X. depuiseti · X. diogenes · X. docilis · X. dolius · X. drucei · X. druryi · X. elara · X. elicius · X. epaphus · X. eson · X. eumedon · X. evana · X. falco (Falcon Sphinx) · X. fassli · X. ferotinus · X. fosteri · X. fugax · X. fusimacula · X. germen · X. godmani · X. goeldi · X. guianensis · X. gundlachi · X. haitensis · X. hannemanni · X. heinrichi · X. hojeda · X. hortulans · X. hydrata · X. indistincta · X. infernalis · X. irrorata · X. isaon · X. jamaicensis · X. jocasta · X. jordani · X. josephinae · X. juanita · X. kaempferi · X. katharinae · X. laelia · X. laevis · X. letiranti · X. libya (Libya Sphinx) · X. linearis · X. loelia · X. lucianus · X. macasensis · X. maculator · X. marginalis · X. martiniquensis · X. media · X. meridanus · X. mexicana · X. minos · X. mirabilis · X. miradoris · X. moeschleri · X. mossi
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- A revision of the lepidopterous family Sphingidae. By the Hon. Walter Rothschild and Karl Jordan (With 67 plates). Issued at the Zoological Museum, Tring, March 1903. London, Printed by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., 1903. ENG url p. 701, p. 913.
- Novitates Zoologicae. London. url p. 913.
Notes
Contributors
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed January 08, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 2 providers.
- The Global Lepidoptera Names Index2, 12.2, 2005.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal January 08, 2008:
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 5799583
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-56963.0
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1718327
Footnotes
- http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=30&sci=Sphingidae&com=Sphinx Moths, Hawkmoths [back]
