NORTH AMERICAN ACROLOPHIDAE — ^HASBROUCK 491 



History and Status 



The history of the North American segment of the famiW, Acrolo- 

 phidae, actually began in Cuba well over one hundred Aears ago. 

 This group was fu'st recognized as distinct from other tineids by 

 Poey (1832-1833), w^ho diagnosed it in his newly erected genus, 

 Acrolophus, the genotj'pe of which w^as his new Cuban species, A. 

 vitellus. At that time Poe}^ also recognized the affinities between 

 his species and the tineid Pinaris hamiferella, previously described 

 from Rio de Janeiro bj^ Hiibner, and he stated that both species 

 evidently belonged to the same genus. However, he was unable to 

 accept Hiibner's genus Pinaris on the grounds that the majority of 

 its species, as well as Hiibner's diagnosis of the genus itself, did not 

 at all agree with his conception of Acroloi)hus. Eventually, hamiferella 

 was transferred from Pinaris to Acrolophus by Walsingham (1887a, 

 p. 154), whose quotation of the original description unquestionably 

 showed it to be an acrolophid. 



Clemens (1859-1860) described the fii'st acrolophids from North 

 America. Although he recognized their distinctness, he was unaware 

 of Poey's previous diagnosis of the group, and he erected a new genus 

 of Tineidae, Anaphora, for the reception of his three new species. 

 Like Poey, Clemens felt that a generic ranking was sufficient for this 

 group. Grote (1872) became the next contributor by adding two 

 species to Clemens' genus. Zeller (1873) also described two species 

 of Anaphora, although both subsequently proved to be synonyms of 

 Clemens' earlier species. Chambers (1878a) described a single 

 species under Anaphora. Grote (1881) described one more species 

 under his new generic name, Eutheca, believing it to be a new type 

 of psychid. 



In 1882, Walsingham made the first of his numerous contributions 

 to this group when he became the first to apply Poey's generic name 

 Acrolophus to a North American species, A. simulatus, of Texas. At 

 the same time, he erected a new genus, Eulepiste, for a second new 

 Texan acrolophid. Two years later, he erected another new genus, 

 Pseudoconchylis, for a species which he erroneously placed in the sub- 

 family Conchylinae of the Tortricidae. In 1887, Walsingham pub- 

 lished his "Revision of the Genera Acrolophus Poey and Anaphora 

 Clemens," the first comprehensive review of the group. In this work, 

 he treated not only a number of old and new foreign genera and species 

 but also practically all the North American genera and species known 

 at that time. Walsingham also erected 6 new North American genera 

 and described 11 new North American species in this paper. Most of 

 the latter species stiU remain valid. Walsingham felt that the group's 

 then numerous genera, including his own, were at that time distinct, 

 although he admitted that "intermediate forms may probably be 



