Craniophora Snellen, 1867

Han, H. L. & Kononenko, V. S., 2010, New species of the genera Acronicta Ochsenheimer, 1816 and Craniophora Snellen, 1867 from China with notes on synonymy and checklist (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae: Acronictinae), Zootaxa 2678 (1), pp. 48-68 : 56-57

Genus Craniophora Snellen, 1867

Craniophora Snellen, 1867 , Vlinders Nederland 1867: 262. Type-species: Noctua ligustri [Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775 [ Austria].

Synonymy: Bisulcia Chapman, 1890 ; Miracopa Draudt, 1950 ; Acronycta auct.

Diagnosis. Wingspan 28–42 mm. Externally Craniophora is similar to Acronicta . Antennae of male simple, short ciliate; frons smooth; labial palps short, compressed, 3 rd segment short; vein M 2 in hindwing reduced. Forewing relatively wide, grey; wing pattern formed by waved lines, characteristic of the genus. In male genitalia, scaphium well expressed, heavily sclerotised, uncus simple, usually sickle-shaped, relatively short; tegumen narrow; juxta weak, plate-like; valva wide, lobe-like, rounded, weakly sclerotised, in some species with small, reduced corona or tilted on the apex; androconial apparatus in form of a tuft of dense hairs in special pockets at the base of sacculus on inner surface of valva; harpe absent. Aedeagus large, straight; vesica long, tubular, armed with patches of small spines, in some Oriental species with 2–3 very large spine-like cornuti. In female genitalia, papillae anales quadrangular; anterior and posterior apophyses of equal length; antrum funnel-shaped or not expressed; ductus moderate or long, thin, sometimes curved or coiled, in some species wide, membranous; corpus bursae saccate or elongated, without signa. Larvae of known species are predominantly oligophagous on Oleaceae .

The genus includes 19 species, distributed in Palaearctic, Oriental, Australian and Ethiopian regions. In China the genus is represented by 11 species, three of which occur in North China, Far Eastern Russia, Korea and Japan. The other species are known mainly from central, south or southwest China. Most species inhabit low to mid-altitude areas with rich broadleaved and evergreen forest where their foodplants ( Oleaceae ) are abundant.

Several species groups can be defined within the genus: the western Palaearctic Craniophora pontica , and eastern Palaearctic C. pacifica , C. tapaishana , C. simillima and C. draudti represent a group of closely related species, which can be reliably identified only by examination of the genitalia.