Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Periploca darwini Landry, 2001

In the Galapagos islands, this species is superficially similar to species of Scythrididae, /thome volcanica, and Periploca darwini. The Scythrididae all have a pecten made of several scales whereas the pecten of the Galapagos Periploca species is made of a single basal scale. /thome volcanica differs in forewing pattern from the Periploca species by the presence of a pale-yellow subterminal line. The males of the two Periploca species can be separated easily by features of the male genitalia, especially the very long aedeagus protruding off the tip of the abdomen in P. longipenis. There are also some subtle differences in wing pattern between the two species; for example, the forewing ground color appears more uniformly greyish brown in P. longipenis and it usually has numerous dark-brown spots of raised scales, whereas the forewing ground color in P. darwini has paler, almost white, areas and a darker brown base, and there are only two small dark-brown spots of unraised scales (Landry, 2001).

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Lepidoptera

Superfamily
Gelechioidea

Family
Cosmopterigidae

Genus
Periploca

Species
darwini

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Endemic

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Isabela (Landry, 2001; Roque, 2006).

References

  • 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.
  • Roque-Albelo, L. Landry, B. (2016) CDF Checklist of Galapagos Butterflies and Moths Charles Darwin Research Station, Puerto Ayora, Ecuador, 32 pp.
  • Roque-Albelo, L. (2006) Diversity and ecology of the Lepidoptera in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador Cardiff University (United Kingdom)

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Periploca darwini", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7290. Accessed 31 October 2026.