| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication: | 2016 |
| Authors: | R. S. Peigler, Naumann S. |
| Journal: | Atalanta |
| Volume: | 47 |
| Issue: | 3/4 |
| Start Page: | 500 |
| Pagination: | 500-520 |
| Date Published: | 12/2016 |
| ISSN: | 0171-0079 |
| Keywords: | ANTHERAEA, BARCODING, CATALOGUE, COCOON, COI, DNA, IMMATURE STAGES, MALE GENITALIA, NEIGHBOR-JOINING, SATURNIIDAE, SERICULTURE, SILK, TYPES, WORLDMAP1 |
| Abstract: | "For more than 200 years there has been considerable confusion pertaining to the correct application of the names Antheraea paphia (Linnaeus, 1758) and Antheraea mylitta (Drury, 1773), with many authors historically and today using one or the other or both names for the tasar silkmoth in India and neighboring countries. Arguments are presented that the two names are synonyms, and that only the earlier published name A. paphia (L.) should be used. Some notes on the history of the misleading interpretations of the type material of A. paphia (L.) and possible taxonomic solutions are presented. There is also disagreement about the correct taxonomic treatment of the entities named A. paphia (L.) and A. cingalesa Moore, 1883. One hypothesis is that A. paphia (L.) from India and A. cingalesa Moore from Sri Lanka were both derived thousands of years ago through selective breeding by humans for their silk from the progenitor A. frithi Moore, 1859 in the Himalayan region. The other hypothesis is that the names A. paphia (L.), A. cingalesa Moore, and A. frithi Moore refer to three distinct and naturally occurring species that evolved without human interference. Detailed arguments to support these opposing hypotheses are presented." |