Animalia > Arthropoda > Insecta > Lepidoptera > Tineidae > Ceratophaga > Ceratophaga vicinella

Ceratophaga vicinella (Gopher Tortoise Moth)

Synonyms: Tinea vicinella

Wikipedia Abstract

Ceratophaga vicinella is a species of moth belonging to the family Tineidae. It has a restricted range in the southeastern United States, mainly in Florida and Mississippi. This species appears to be in decline, almost certainly because the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is under threat; the moth relies on the tortoise in a unique way. All Ceratophaga larvae feed, uniquely among Lepidoptera, on solid keratin. Most species feed on the horns and hooves of dead ungulates but C. vicinella feeds exclusively on the shells of dead gopher tortoises.
View Wikipedia Record: Ceratophaga vicinella

External References

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Citations

Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0