Austrocidaria venustatis
species of moth, endemic to New Zealand

Austrocidaria venustatis is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It endemic to New Zealand and has been collected in Southland. Adults of this species are on the wing in December.
Taxonomy
This species was first described by John Tenison Salmon in 1946 using a specimen collected at Lake Gunn in the Eglinton Valley in December, 1944. Salmon originally named the species Hydriomena venustatis. In 1950 George Hudson described and illustrated this species. In 1988 John S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus Austrocidaria. The male holotype is held at Te Papa.
Description
Hudson described this species as follows:
The expansion of the wings is about 1+1⁄8 inches (30 mm.). Face yellowish, palpi black.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Austrocidaria venustatis” as species of moth, endemic to New Zealand. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of moth, endemic to New Zealand. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 16, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q13879116. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1946, 1944, 1950 and 1988.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Austrocidaria venustatis”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Austrocidaria venustatis primary sources, Austrocidaria venustatis archive and Austrocidaria research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Austrocidaria venustatis”?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
- Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
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This entry incorporates text from “Austrocidaria venustatis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.