EUPTEROTIDAE; PREPTOS. Original Description. By Dr. M. Drattdt. 
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8. Family: Eupterotidae. 
The American Continent harbours but one representative of these forms which are widely distributed 
in the African and Indo-Australian Faunae; according to its exterior and structure it undoubtedly belongs to 
this place. Up to the last years a number of other quite heterogeneous elements had been added to this family, 
but on their having been thoroughly examined they were cancelled again. So for instance some unquestionable 
Bombycids of the genus Carthara and its nearest allies belonged to this group, moreover those insects resembling 
Apatelodes, which now prove to be a separate family closely allied to the Notodontidae and which we shall 
introduce here for the first time as ..Zanolidae“. 
As to the only representative we may briefly refer to the detailed introductions in Yol. X, p. 417, and 
Yol. XIV, p. 293, where all the essential characters of these peculiar insects have been dealt with. We merely 
repeat here that they are mostly large insects with broad wings, with a short discal cell on both wings, part of 
vein 8 of hindwing being fused with the upper cell-wall, whilst vein 5 rises from the centre of the cross-vein; 
frenulum present, whereby the family is separated from the Lasiocampidae which lack it altogether. AYe know 
as much as nothing of the habits of the only American representative which has remained a great rarity — 
only very few specimens being known up to the present day. 
1. Genus: X*reptos ScJi.s. 
A lepidopteron of medium size with broad wings, straight costal and distal margins on the forewing, 
with a rounded inner angle; cell on both wings very short; antennae with very short pectinations and with 
hair-tufts at the base. The very short palpi droop somewhat and are covered Avith woolly hair. Abdomen 
shorter than hindwing. Only one Central-American, extremely rare species: 
P. oropus Schr. (= corax Drc.) (86 e). Pale brownish, body with a dark greyish-black collar; wings 
with 4 or 5 grey median and postmedian undulate lines, forewing with the beginning of a grey antemedian line 
at the costal margin; behind the dark brown, very slightly curved subterminal line the marginal areas of both 
wings are darkened broAvn. Mexico (Jalapa) and Guatemala. The specimen figured from the Berlin Museum 
originates from Guatemala. 
Original description of the form of the American Eupterotidae : 
oropus. 
oropus Pr. Schs. Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1892, p. 310. 
