TRANSACTIONS 



OF THE 



NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE 



18 8 3. 



ZOOLOGY 



Art. I. — Descriptions of New Zealand Micro-Lepidoptera.* 



By E. Meyeick, B.A. 



[Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 3rd May, 1883.] 



III.— (ECOPHOKIDjE. 



The (Eeophorida are the principal family of the Tineina in New Zealand, 

 as in Australia, and attain considerable development ; 55 species are here 

 described, but the actual number is probably much more considerable. In 

 addition to those characterized, I have included in an appendix references 

 to descriptions of some otber species, which I have not yet satisfactorily iden- 

 tified. The family here constitutes about a sixth of the entire Micro-Lepi- 

 doptera ; in Australia it forms more than a fourth, whilst in Europe it is 

 about a thirtieth. 



I have elsewhere discussed the internal development of the family, and 

 its relation to other families of the group, and need not again enter into 

 these questions. Two points, however, present themselves, on which some- 

 thing needs to be said ; firstly, the relation of this portion of the fauna to 

 Australian forms, and secondly, the inferences to be drawn from the 

 character of the fauna itself. 



Since the family occupies such a prominent position in both Australia 

 and New Zealand, compared with such other regions as are yet known, it 

 seems at first sight reasonable to infer a more or less close interconnection 

 between the species of these two countries. Such an impression is not con- 

 firmed on investigation. No species is yet known common to both. Four- 

 teen genera are found in New Zealand ; of these, ten are endemic, three occur 

 also in Australia, and one is cosmopolitan. Of the three genera shared 

 with Australia, two (Eulechria and Phlceopola) are large and typically 

 Australian genera, represented in New Zealand by three species, obviously 

 mere stragglers ; the third, Trachypepla, is a typical New Zealand genus of 



* For Parts I. and II., see Trans. N.Z. Inst,, vol. xv., art. i. 



