Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Cosmopterix attenuatella
Polillas de cosmet, Cosmet moth
This species can be separated readily from its three Galapagos congeners by the united band formed by the shining spots at the base of the forewing fascia. On average, this is the smallest of the four Galapagos Cosmopterix species; the wingspan of the males (n=45) varies from 7.0 to 9.0 mm, and the wingspan of the females (n=24) is between 7.5 to 9.5 mm. The moths also appear generally darker than the other three species. The male genitalia (figs 15, 16) are characterized by the slender and apically pointed aedeagus. In the female genitalia (fig. 28), the ostium bursae is in a narrow sclerotized tube extended and enlarged anteroventrally, the corpus bursae is large and without signum, and the ductus bursaeconnects with the corpus bur > at its anterior end (Landry, 2001).
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Superfamily
Gelechioidea
Family
Cosmopterigidae
Genus
Cosmopterix
Species
attenuatella
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Native
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Distribution. Pantropical. Fernandina, Isabela, Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal, Santiago (Landry, 2001).
- Roque-Albelo, L. Landry, B. (2016) CDF Checklist of Galapagos Butterflies and Moths Charles Darwin Research Station, Puerto Ayora, Ecuador, 32 pp.
- Landry, B. Roque-Albelo, L. (2008) Additions to the Cosmopterigidae (Lepidoptera) of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, with description of a new species of Stilbosis Clemens. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 115(2): 303-309.
- Landry, B. (2001) The Cosmopterigidae (Lepidoptera) of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Rev. Suisse Zool. 108(3): 513-539.
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This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Cosmopterix attenuatella", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7134. Accessed 15 May 2025.