Taxonomic Study Of The Genus Agonopterix From China (Lepidoptera: Elachistidae: Depressariinae)

Agonopterix Hubner is a large genus of Depressariinae. It currently comprises more than 240 species worldwide, particularly well represented in the temperate regions.This dissertation deals with the taxonomic study of the genus Agonopterix Hubner from China. It comporizes two parts:the general part and the systematic part.In the general part, the opinions of different scholars on the taxonomic systems of the subfamily Depressariinae are discussed. The research history and the present research status of the genus Agonopterix Hubner are briefly reviewed. The geographic distribution, biology, morphology and the systematic characters of Agonopterix are introduced.In the systematic part,59 species from China are recorded.12 species are described as new to science:A. densiuscula sp. nov.; A. epunctata sp. nov.; A. fasciaricella sp. nov.; A. gibbosa sp. nov.; A. grisea sp. nov.; A. hamatidens sp. nov.; A. hexilimbosa sp. nov.; A. laminatusa sp. nov.; A. luxianensis sp. nov.; A. microsphaerica sp. nov.; A. nivimacularis sp. nov.; A. spinea sp. nov.; 22 species are newly recorded for China:A. acuta (Stringer,1930); A. adspersella (Kollar,1832); A. anticella (Erschoff,1877); A. angelicella (Hubner,1813); A. arctica (Strand,1902); A. arenella (Denis & Schiffermuller,1775); A. bipunctifera (Matsumura,1931); A. broennoeensis (Strand,1920); A. conterminella (Zeller,1839); A. encentra (Meyrick, 1914); A. kaekeritziana (Linnaeus,1767); A. liturosa (Haworth,1811); A. l-nigrum (Matsumura,1931); A. kirgizella Lvovsky,2001; A. pallorella (Zeller,1839); A. remota (Meyrick,1921); A. rimantasi Lvovsky,1985; A. rimulella (Caradja,1920); A. septicella (Snellen,1884); A. sinevi Lvovsky,1984; A. sumizome Fujisawa,1985; A.ochrocephala Saito,1980.The key to distinguish the known species is given. Synonyms and citations of each taxon are listed; the detailed morphological characters, the available data on the geographical distribution and the host plants are included; the photos of 54 adults,49 males and 26 females are provided.The type species, except mentioned otherwise, are deposited in the Insect Collection, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.