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Xylophanes falco

species of insect

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 15, 2024
Entity authorityQ2767295 ↗
Source-derived summary

Xylophanes falco is a moth of the family Sphingidae.

Distribution

It is found from Honduras and Guatemala north through Mexico to southern Arizona and western Texas. It is generally found in oak woodland and along streamsides.

Description

The wingspan is 70–80 millimetres (2.8–3.1 in). Adults are similar to Xylophanes monzoni but generally paler, with a less diffuse pattern and more falcate forewings. The abdomen has long, pale hair-like scales. The forewing upperside is pale brown-beige from the base to the apex with scattered black scales restricted to the leading edge anterior to the discal spot. The base of the wing has a pale purple suffusion and traces of two median lines running from the inner margin. There is a full complement of five dark brown postmedian and two submarginal lines, all sharply defined and converging to the apex. It is less contrastingly patterned than Xylophanes monzoni.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Xylophanes falco” is species of insect. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Xylophanes, falco and species, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current 146-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Xylophanes, falco and species is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “species of insect” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 15, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q2767295. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. 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.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Xylophanes falco”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Xylophanes falco primary sources, Xylophanes falco archive and Xylophanes research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Xylophanes falco”?
  2. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
  3. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Xylophanes falco” 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.