This is, chronologically, the final part to be published on the
Geometridae of Borneo. It is therefore a convenient place for a review of
the family as a whole, particularly with regard to generalities such as:
the diversity of the Bornean fauna and its biogeographic character
relative to that of the Oriental tropics and the world totals for
Geometridae; ecological segregation of the various higher taxa that may
provide pointers to adaptive trends, including host-plant specialisations;
a summary of morphological features that may be important in resolving
problems in the higher classification of the family, particularly the
position and interrelationship of the two subfamilies treated in detail,
the Sterrhinae and Larentiinae.
The diversity of the Bornean Geometridae in a world context
A recent survey of diversity in world Geometridae (Scoble, Gaston &
Crook, 1995) enables the richness of the Bornean fauna to be compared,
subfamily by subfamily and in total, with that of both the Oriental
tropics and the world as a whole. This is of practical interest as it can
give an idea of how useful a “localised” faunistic series such as this
can be over a wider geographical area to facilitate at least preliminary
identification work on neighbouring faunas.
The analysis in the next section also indicates this wider relevance, as
it highlights representation of different biogeographic categories in the
fauna. Thus, a treatise on Borneo moths should include all or most
species: widespread in the Indo-Australian tropics; widespread in the
Oriental tropics; with more restricted S.E. Asian plus Sundanian
distributions; limited to Sundaland; endemic to Borneo. These categories
are more or less nested one within the next in reverse order. In addition
there are a small number of species shared between Borneo, the Philippines
and Sulawesi, and also extending further east to the Moluccas and New
Guinea. These are particularly frequent amongst more montane taxa
(Holloway, 1970) as will be seen in this part in the sterrhine genus Cyclophora
Hübner and extensively in the Larentiinae.
Some genera and species groups in Larentiinae have their centres of
species richness in the Australasian tropics, particularly New Guinea,
though one, Poecilasthena Warren, is most diverse in Australia
itself. In Tripteridia Warren and Tympanota Warren the
species concerned are mostly of the widespread montane type referred to in
the previous paragraph. In Scotocyma Turner and the Collix
intrepida Prout group the Bornean species is endemic but clearly
related to the Australasian taxa. In Poecilasthena there is a
Bornean endemic and a Sundanian species, but they belong to a widespread
Indo-Australian species group that extends from Burma to Fiji and New
Caledonia. The new genus Papuarisme is distinctive in having a
small group of Bornean endemics that appear to form a monophyletic group
that is possibly sister to a larger Australasian complex, mostly found in
the mountains of New Guinea.
A pair of species in this Papuarisme group has the characteristic
Bornean duplex pattern noted by Holloway (1970, 1986b, 1993[4])
where a Sundanian or widespread Bornean montane species is sister to one
restricted to G. Kinabalu. The latter replaces the former at higher
altitudes and is often larger. In addition to the Papuarisme pair,
there are further examples in Hypocometa Warren and Poecilasthena
in the Larentiinae. Many other geometrid species have only been found
on G. Kinabalu, particularly Larentiinae. A list was presented by Holloway
(1996) but this is updated in Table 1 in the light of taxonomic changes
made in this volume.
Table 1: Endemic Bornean Geometridae only recorded from G. Kinabalu. Those with
an asterisk are represented only by single specimens.
Desmobathrinae
|
|
Ozola
prouti Holloway
|
Ozola
submontana Holloway
|
Geometrinae
|
|
Paramaxates
spinivesica Holloway*
|
Idiochlora
berwicki Holloway*
|
Idiochlora
stictogramma Prout
|
|
Sterrhinae
|
|
Chrysocraspeda
truncipennis Prout*
|
Scopula
brookesae Holloway
|
Perixera
melantroches Prout
|
Scopula
quadratisparsa Holloway
|
Idaea
galsworthyi sp. n.
|
|
Larentiinae
|
|
Goniopteroloba
solivaga Prout
|
Axinoptera
penataran sp.n
|
Tristeirometa
bathylima Prout
|
Gymnoscelis
transapicalis Holloway
|
Hypocometa
titanis Prout
|
Calluga
punctinervis Holloway*
|
Phthonoloba
bracteola Holloway
|
Micrulia
subzebrina sp.n*
|
Phthonoloba
stigmatephora Prout
|
Symmimetis
kolopis sp.n
|
Phthonoloba
caliginosa Holloway*
|
Poecilasthena
nubivaga Prout
|
Phthonoloba
altissima Holloway
|
Xanthorhoe
mesilauensis Holloway
|
Sauris
quassa Prout*
|
Xanthorhoe
liwagu sp.n
|
Ziridava
asterota Prout*
|
Ecliptopera
zaes Prout
|
Pasiphila
coelica Prout
|
Ecliptopera
furvoides Thierry-Mieg
|
Pasiphila
sayata Holloway
|
Dysstroma
pendleburyi Prout
|
Pasiphila
luteata Holloway
|
Lampropteryx
moroessa Prout*
|
Pasiphila
eurystalides Prout
|
Papuarisme
lagadani sp.n
|
Syncosmia
layanga Holloway
|
Papuarisme
maerens Holloway*
|
Syncosmia
discisuffusa Holloway
|
|
Ennominae
|
|
Achrosis
classeyi Holloway*
|
Milionia
pendleburyi Prout
|
Garaeus
altapicata Holloway
|
Apophyga
altapona Holloway
|
Synegia
punctivervis Holloway
|
Catoria
proicyrta Prout
|
Entomopteryx
statheuta Prout
|
Bornealcis
versicolor Prout
|
Astygisa
waterstradti Holloway
|
Myrioblephara
geniculata Prout
|
The predominantly montane character of the tropical Larentiinae was
emphasised by Holloway (1986b), who also reviewed the general
biogeography of the group in the Indo-Australian tropics, with mention
also of the montane Geometridae. This particular character of the
Larentiinae is illustrated in an analysis later in this introductory
section. The montane ecosystems of Borneo are notable for a mingling of
north-temperate and south-temperate elements, with also a small number of
intrinsically tropical montane groups. G. Kinabalu is most notable in this
respect (Beaman, 1996; Corner, 1996).
As the Lepidoptera are mainly herbivorous as larvae, often very
specifically so, the question arises of whether the specialist herbivorous
faunas of the various phytogeographic elements in the Bornean montane
biota are of a similar biogeographic character: fellow-travellers rather
than local colonists. This still needs to be tested by rigorous studies of
the plants themselves, but there are indications of at least some
concordance amongst the Larentiinae. The Australasian Tympanota Warren
and Poecilasthena appear to be associated with Podocarpaceae and Leptospermum
(Myrtaceae) respectively, and the north-temperate subgenus Gymnodisca
Warren of Pasiphila Meyrick is associated with the Ericaceae of
similar biogeographic character. Typical Pasiphila in New Zealand
feed on other plant families, e.g. Rubiaceae and Scrophulariaceae (Dugdale,
1975). Milionia Walker in the Ennominae (Holloway, 1993[4]) is
another example of an Australasian tropical group associated with southern
conifers. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the host-plant requirements of
tropical geometrids is far too scanty to permit a more detailed analysis
of such trends.
The rich Sundanian and Oriental tropical lowland fauna, together with this
biogeographically varied montane one both contribute to the high
representation within Borneo of Indo-Australian geometrid diversity as a
whole. Table 2 compares the Bornean fauna with world and Oriental totals
given in Scoble, Gaston & Crook (1995). The totals for Oenochrominae
are for the old concept of this group and thus include the true
Oenochrominae, Desmobathrinae and minor groups suggested to be Ennominae,
such as Orthostixinae, in Holloway (1996a). Scoble et al. also
attempted to estimate real species richness from considering the history
of description of Geometridae and descriptions of new taxa and synonymies
from recent revisions of Neotropical groups. Similar data are presented
for Borneo in Table 3.
The total geometrid fauna of Borneo is approximately one quarter of that
recorded by Scoble et al. for the Oriental Region as a whole and
just under half the total for all Australia listed by Nielsen, Edwards
& Rangsi (1996). Bornean "Oenochrominae" , Geometrinae and
Sterrhinae represent almost a third of the Oriental total, whereas the
Larentiinae represent under one fifth. The proportion of endemics to
widespread taxa is relatively low in the first three, higher in the
Larentiinae, with the bulk of the Oriental larentiine fauna being located
in mountain regions of the Himalaya and western China rather than in the
tropical lowlands and lower montane zones.
Table 2. Bornean Geometridae as a percentage of Oriental and world totals
determined by Scoble, Gaston & Crook (1995). The concept of
Oenochrominae is 'traditional' and includes Desmobathrinae and other minor
groups (Holloway, 1996a).
|
Borneo |
Oriental |
World |
%Oriental |
%World |
Ennominae
|
432
|
1846
|
9710
|
23
|
4
|
"Oenochrominae"
|
54
|
136
|
610
|
40
|
9
|
Geometrinae
|
218
|
584
|
2296
|
37
|
9
|
Larentiinae
|
199
|
1042
|
5749
|
19
|
3
|
Sterrhinae
|
176
|
543
|
2763
|
33
|
6
|
TOTAL
|
1079
|
4151
|
21144
|
26
|
5
|
Table
3. New species described, new synonymies made and Bornean species
revived from synonymy in parts of The Moths of Borneo. Figures in brackets
express these as percentages of the total species.
|
Total
species |
New species
(%) |
New
synonyms
(%) |
Revived
species
(%) |
Ennominae
|
432
|
83 (19)
|
56 (13)
|
13 (3)
|
"Oenochrominae"
|
54
|
5 (9)
|
2 (4)
|
1 (2)
|
Geometrinae
|
217
|
48 (22)
|
18 (8)
|
9 (4)
|
Larentiinae
|
199
|
29 (15)
|
21(10)
|
6 (3)
|
Sterrhinae
|
176
|
21 (12)
|
24 (13)
|
10 (6)
|
TOTAL
|
1079
|
186 (17)
|
121 (11)
|
39 (4)
|
The percentage of new species described plus revived species is
approximately equivalent to the mean level noted by Scoble et al. for
a limited number of Neotropical geometrid genera that have been reviewed
recently. The total for Bornean Larentiinae would have been higher but for
the large number already described in the survey of the fauna of G.
Kinabalu by Holloway (1976). However, the level of synonymy is less than
half that for the Neotropical reviews. These statistics support the
assertion by Scoble et al. that “there are no signs that the
total number of species is set to rise by anything remotely like an order
of magnitude” The indications are that the global total of just over
21000 noted by Scoble et al. would be unlikely to even double in
the event of a complete inventory of species.
The ecological and biogeographic representation of Bornean geometrid
groups
Holloway & Barlow (1992) and Holloway (1994) presented analyses
comparing biogeographic and ecological representation across various
Bornean moth groups that portrayed the proportions of, for example,
endemic species restricted to lowland forest and the same for montane
forests, versus, at the opposite extreme, species widespread through the
Indo-Australian tropics that favour open or disturbed vegetation types.
The raw
data were presented in the form of two-way tables, the rows representing
biogeographic categories and the columns ecological ones. Tables for
various ennomine groups were included in the publications cited: the
Ennominae as a whole, groups covered by Holloway (1996a) and in
this part are tabulated in Fig 1. Summary data, with some categories
combined (all montane species together for ecological categories; Sunda
with Wallacean and Himalayan with wide Oriental for biogeographic
categories), are presented for all major geometrid groups in Tables 4 and
5, ranked according to montane representation (Table 4) and
proportions of endemics (Table 5).
Table
4.
Percentages of broad habitat categories for various geometrid groups in
Borneo, ranked according to percentage of montane species. The figures
have been rounded to one decimal place so may not exactly total 100.
|
Lowland |
Montane |
Lowland and montane |
Secondary vegetation and open habitats |
Larentiinae:
Trichopterygini
|
11.7 |
78.5 |
9.5 |
0 |
Larentiinae
excluding Trichopterygini
|
25.6 |
56.0 |
17.1 |
1.3 |
Ennominae:
Boarmiini
|
39.9 |
45.2 |
13.5 |
1.4 |
All
Ennominae
|
43.9 |
39.0 |
15.7 |
1.4 |
Ennominae:
Hypochrosini
|
53.3 |
34.2 |
11.7 |
0.8 |
Desmobathrinae
|
54.8 |
30.9 |
7.1 |
7.1 |
Geometrinae:
Hemitheiti
|
52.4 |
29.2 |
13.6 |
4.9 |
Sterrhinae:
Cosymbiini lineage
|
63.3 |
25.5 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
Geometrinae
excluding Hemitheiti
|
53.2 |
24.7 |
18.3 |
3.6 |
Ennominae:
Cassymini
|
62.2 |
19.0 |
18.9 |
0 |
Sterrhinae:
Sterrhini lineage
|
60.8 |
16.3 |
13.5 |
9.5 |
Table 5.
Percentages
of biogeographic categories for various geometrid groups in Borneo. The
Sunda / Wallacea category includes Sundanian species and those shared
between Borneo or Sundaland and Wallacea. The wide Oriental category
includes all species shared with mainland Asia. The groups are ranked
according to percentage endemism. The figures have been rounded to one
decimal place so may not exactly total 100 in each row.
|
Endemic |
Sunda/Wallacea |
Wide Oriental |
Indo-Australia |
Larentiinae:
Trichopterygini
|
40.5 |
45.2 |
9.6 |
4.8 |
Ennominae:
Hypochrosini
|
31.7 |
40.0 |
25.0 |
3.3 |
Larentiinae
excluding Trichopterygini
|
31.5 |
30.9 |
21.7 |
15.8 |
Ennominae:
Boarmiini
|
31.1 |
39.2 |
23.0 |
6.8 |
All
Ennominae
|
30.0 |
41.2 |
23.0 |
5.8 |
Geometrinae:
Hemitheiti
|
29.1 |
30.1 |
24.3 |
16.5 |
Sterrhinae:
Sterrhini lineage
|
27.0 |
33.9 |
31.1 |
8.1 |
Sterrhinae:
Cosymbiini lineage
|
26.7 |
34.5 |
23.4 |
15.6 |
Desmobathrinae
|
23.8 |
40.4 |
30.0 |
4.8 |
Geometrinae
excluding Hemitheiti
|
9.2 |
50.4 |
33.9 |
6.4 |
|
Lowland
forest |
Lower
montane forest |
Upper
montane forest |
Radio
Sabah & summit zones |
Lower
and upper montane forest |
Lowland
and montane forest |
Disturbed
forest & open habitats |
Endemic |
3.6 |
1.8 |
- |
- |
0.9 |
- |
- |
Borneo
& Wallacea |
0.9 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Sundaland |
19.3 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
- |
5.5 |
9.2 |
- |
Sundaland
& Wallacea |
7.3 |
- |
1.8 |
- |
- |
2.7 |
- |
N.E.
Himalaya & Sundaland |
7.3 |
- |
1.8 |
- |
3.6 |
- |
- |
Widespread
Oriental |
11.0 |
- |
0.9 |
- |
1.8 |
5.5 |
1.8 |
Widespread
Indo-Australian |
3.6 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
0.9 |
1.8 |
|
GEOMETRINAE
excluding Hemitheiti |
Endemic |
20.0 |
1.1 |
5.6 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Borneo
& Wallacea |
- |
- |
2.2 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Sundaland |
22.2 |
- |
2.2 |
- |
- |
1.1 |
- |
Sundaland
& Wallacea |
4.4 |
1.1 |
- |
- |
1.1 |
- |
- |
N.E.
Himalaya & Sundaland |
4.4 |
1.1 |
2.2 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Widespread
Oriental |
5.6 |
- |
4.4 |
- |
1.1 |
2.2 |
2.2 |
Widespread
Indo-Australian |
6.7 |
1.1 |
2.2 |
- |
1.1 |
1.1 |
3.3 |
|
STERRHINAE:
Cosymbiini lineage |
Endemic |
11.7 |
4.9 |
4.9 |
- |
3.9 |
3.9 |
- |
Borneo
& Wallacea |
1.0 |
1.0 |
- |
- |
- |
1.0 |
- |
Sundaland |
14.6 |
2.9- |
1.0 |
- |
2.9 |
1.0 |
1.9 |
Sundaland
& Wallacea |
1.9 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1.0 |
- |
N.E.
Himalaya & Sundaland |
1.9 |
2.9 |
- |
- |
- |
2.9 |
- |
Widespread
Oriental |
8.7 |
- |
2.9 |
- |
1.0 |
1.9 |
1.9 |
Widespread
Indo-Australian |
12.6 |
- |
1.0 |
- |
- |
1.9 |
1.0 |
|
GEOMETRINAE:
Hemitheiti |
Endemic |
13.5 |
1.4 |
8.1 |
- |
1.4 |
2.7 |
- |
Borneo
& Wallacea |
4.1 |
- |
1.4 |
- |
- |
- |
1.4 |
Sundaland |
13.5 |
- |
1.4 |
- |
- |
5.4 |
2.7 |
Sundaland
& Wallacea |
4.1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
N.E.
Himalaya & Sundaland |
10.8 |
- |
1.4 |
- |
- |
1.4 |
- |
Widespread
Oriental |
12.2 |
- |
1.4 |
- |
- |
1.4 |
2.7 |
Widespread
Indo-Australian |
2.7 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2.7 |
2.7 |
|
STERRHINAE:
Sterrhini lineage |
Endemic |
11.9 |
4.8 |
2.4 |
- |
2.4 |
2.4 |
- |
Borneo
& Wallacea |
2.4 |
- |
4.8 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Sundaland |
14.3 |
2.4 |
4.8 |
- |
- |
- |
2.4 |
Sundaland
& Wallacea |
7.1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2.4 |
- |
N.E.
Himalaya & Sundaland |
7.1 |
2.4 |
- |
- |
4.8 |
- |
- |
Widespread
Oriental |
9.5 |
- |
- |
- |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
Widespread
Indo-Australian |
2.4 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2.4 |
|
DESMOBATHRINAE |
Endemic |
4.8 |
- |
26.2 |
7.1 |
- |
2.4 |
- |
Borneo
& Wallacea |
- |
- |
4.8 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
- |
- |
Sundaland |
4.8 |
2.4 |
19.0 |
- |
2.4 |
4.8 |
- |
Sundaland
& Wallacea |
- |
- |
- |
2.4 |
- |
- |
- |
N.E.
Himalaya & Sundaland |
- |
- |
4.8 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Widespread
Oriental |
2.4 |
- |
2.4 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Widespread
Indo-Australian |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2.4 |
2.4 |
- |
|
LARENTIINAE:
Trichopterygini |
Endemic |
11.5 |
3.0 |
9.5 |
1.5 |
1.8 |
2.5 |
- |
Borneo
& Wallacea |
0.5 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
- |
0.2 |
- |
- |
Sundaland |
17.8 |
4.0 |
3.5 |
- |
1.8 |
5.8 |
0.8 |
Sundaland
& Wallacea |
3.0 |
- |
0.8 |
- |
0.8 |
1.0 |
0.2 |
N.E.
Himalaya & Sundaland |
2.2 |
1.8 |
1.2 |
- |
1.2 |
1.5 |
- |
Widespread
Oriental |
5.8 |
1.2 |
1.8 |
- |
1.8 |
2.5 |
0.2 |
Widespread
Indo-Australian |
2.5 |
0.5 |
0.2 |
- |
0.2 |
2.2 |
0.2 |
|
ENNOMINAE |
Endemic |
4.0 |
0.7 |
20.0 |
4.0 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
- |
Borneo
& Wallacea |
0.7 |
- |
3.3 |
- |
0.7 |
- |
- |
Sundaland |
9.3 |
1.3 |
8.0 |
0.7 |
1.3 |
2.7 |
- |
Sundaland
& Wallacea |
1.3 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
- |
- |
4.0 |
0.7 |
N.E.
Himalaya & Sundaland |
1.3 |
- |
2.0 |
- |
- |
4.0 |
- |
Widespread
Oriental |
4.7 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
2.0 |
0.7 |
Widespread
Indo-Australian |
4.7 |
- |
2.7 |
- |
1.3 |
7.3 |
- |
|
LARENTIINAE
excluding Trichopterygini |
Figure 1. Percentage of species for geometrid higher taxa amongst
various biogeographic and ecological categories as discussed in the text.
The publications cited also included cluster analyses of the groups
derived from coefficients comparing their similarities of representation
across the various categories in the two-way table. This analysis showed
that most Bornean moth groups had a high proportion of lowland forest
species, either endemic or with general Sundanian distributions.
Groups departing from this general trend were either those with increased
representation of montane species, such as the Arctiinae, or those with
high representation of widespread species, with low levels of endemism,
and greater representation in the disturbed and open habitat category,
such as the Sphingidae and stictopterine Noctuidae. The higher trifine
subfamilies of the Noctuidae occupied an extreme position, having high
proportions of both montane endemics and of widespread open habitat
species, including numerous crop pests, both perhaps arising through a
trend towards feeding on herbaceous plants enabling them to radiate into
habitats at high latitudes and altitudes where such plants are more
frequent, and also early stage successional habitats in the lowlands.
A similar analysis of a range of geometrid groups, based on the ennomine
tables published by Holloway & Barlow (1992) and those in Fig 1 again
showed a large general cluster of groups with a high proportion of lowland
species, endemic or Sundanian, with exclusion of the two larentiine
groups. These are distinguished by very high representation of montane
species, and clustered in to the main grouping via the Boarmiini where
montane species are also numerous (see also Table 4). They also have a
high proportion of endemic species. The non-trichopterygine Larentiinae
resemble the higher trifine noctuids in having strong representation at
high latitudes also, facilitated in part by adoption of herbaceous feeding
in the larvae.
Some minor trends of interest can be seen in Tables 4 and 5. The
highest proportions of very widespread species are seen in the
nontrichopterygine larentiines, the Hemitheiti in the geometrines and the
cosymbiine lineage of the Sterrhinae. The first two groups include a high
proportion of species where the larvae are flower-feeding, e.g. the
Eupitheciini in the larentiine group. There may be some correlation
between generalist flower-feeding and dispersal ability, though only the
eupitheciines have been successful in colonising remote oceanic islands. A
few cosymbiines have achieved this and species of Scopula Schrank
in the other sterrhine lineage. This lineage also has the highest
proportion of species in the disturbed and open habitat category in Table
4, perhaps a reflection on the herbaceous larval feeding habits in many
species of Scopula and Idaea Treitschke, genera that have
also been successful in open habitats at higher latitudes though this is
not accompanied, in Scopula at least, by high representation in
tropical montane systems.
A tentative classification of the Geometridae
Fig 2 presents a tentative phylogeny of the family Geometridae, biased
somewhat towards groups represented in the Oriental tropics but including
also (square brackets) groups from elsewhere that were at least partially
investigated or where data in the literature provided an indication of
affinities. Detail within the subfamilies is as suggested by Holloway
(1993 [4], 1996a) and in the subfamily accounts of this volume.
Relationships between them are the topic of this section.
Figure 2. Tentative phylogeny for the Geometridae. Non-Bornean
tribes included are indicated by square brackets. The subfamilies
Alsophilinae and Archiearinae are not represented in Borneo.
These relationships are established mostly on characters of the adult male
and female abdomen. Characteristics of early stages have been of value for
recognising groupings within subfamilies, but data are too scattered and
the approaches in the literature to documentation too varied to permit an
overview of the whole family, a research project well beyond the scope of
this series. Patocka (1994) has provided a key to the pupae of a high
proportion of European geometrids.
The two major lineages in Fig 2 are segregated primarily on male secondary
sexual characters. In the Larentiinae and Sterrhinae lineage,
modifications to the abdomen, when present, occur on the second sternite (Trichopterygini,
Sterrhini lineage) or in the form of coremata more distally on the abdomen
(Cosymbiini, other Larentiinae). In the Ennominae, Geometrinae and
Desmobathrinae lineage they occur on the third sternite in the form of a
transverse comb of setae (Ennominae) or a pair of lateral patches of setae
(the other two groups). These features usually occur in conjunction with a
hair-pencil sheathed in the hind-tibia, though this is absent from most
larentiines (the trichopterygine genus Phthonoloba Warren is an
exception) and the Cosymbiini lineage.
Features of the tympanal organs may also indicate a relationship between
the Larentiinae and Sterrhinae, such as the hammer-headed ansa and the
absence of a tympanic lacinia in most (Cook & Scoble, 1992). The bursa
copulatrix in the two subfamilies tends to be generally scobinate, spined
or rugose, rarely with a definite signum (this, when it occurs, possibly
arising through a coalescence of the general spining). In most Ennominae,
Geometrinae and the Archiearinae there is a definite signum. Exceptions
within the Ennominae/Geometrinae grouping are the Desmobathrinae, where a
great diversity of bursa ornamentation occurs, and the ennomine tribe
Plutodini where spining is general.
The sister-relationship of the Geometrinae and Desmobathrinae was
discussed by Holloway (1996a). Apart from the setal character on
the male third sternite, three out of four tribes included show very high
concentrations of geoverdin wing pigment.
The Orthostixinae are placed as sister-group to the rest of the Ennominae,
the latter grouped on absence of vein M2 in the hindwing. The
Orthostixinae have been given subfamily status formally by Hausmann
(1996). The genus Heteralex Warren may likewise be a basal branch
of the Ennominae (Holloway, 1996a).
Relationships between the two major lineages discussed above and the small
subfamilies Oenochrominae and Alsophilinae are shown unresolved in the
phylogeny. These smaller families all exhibit incomplete reduction of
abdominal prolegs to a single pair on segment A6 (as well as the anal
claspers), but incomplete reduction also occurs in some southern
hemisphere Ennominae (Common, 1990; Scoble, 1992).
In the Archiearinae, shown in a sister-relationship to the rest of the
family, the labial palps are exposed in the pupa (Nakamura, 1987), in
contrast to the rest of the family (Scoble, 1992), and the cremaster is
distinctively T-shaped, the setae two-segmented (illustrated by Nakamura).
Mosher (1916) noted a T-shaped cremaster also in Alsophilinae, but
Nakamura suggested the latter were closer in general pupal characters to
the Ennominae. It is possible, therefore, that the Archiearinae are
sister-group to the rest of the Geometridae if exposure of the labial
palpi is plesiomorphic. This relationship is also supported by the lack in
Archiearinae of the accessory tympanum seen in all other Geometridae (Cook
& Scoble, 1992).
The family as a whole is defined by the structure of the tympanal organs,
in particular the presence of the tympanic handle or ansa (Minet, 1983;
Cook & Scoble, 1992; Scoble, 1992). The Geometridae and Uranioidea are
set apart from the Drepanoidea, Bombycoidea and Noctuoidea by possession
of chaetosemata, though these are found widely amongst other ditrysian
superfamilies and in the butterflies. The inchworm geometer larva, with
abdominal prolegs reduced to those on A6 and A10, is also characteristic
of the family, though not universal as discussed above.
More detailed descriptions of the family may be found in Common (1990) and
Scoble (1992). Comment here is restricted to diagnostic features. |