Lionel Jack Dumbleton
Encyclopedia
Lionel Jack Dumbleton was a New Zealand
entomologist. He was born in Hampden, New Zealand
and was a founding member of the Entomological Society of New Zealand.
One of his most remarkable biological discoveries was a new genus of caddis-fly
-like primitive moth
s that he described as Agathiphaga
(Dumbleton, 1952) and which has been subsequently raised to superfamily level as the second most primitive known living lineage of moth
s, Agathiphagoidea.
In 1998 a new genus of hepialid
moth
s was named Dumbletonius
in his honour, and Hort Research has a building in Auckland
named after him.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
entomologist. He was born in Hampden, New Zealand
Hampden, New Zealand
Hampden is a rural settlement defined as a "populated area less than a town" in North Otago, New Zealand. It is located close to the North Otago coast, some 30 kilometres south of Oamaru, and 50 minutes north of Otago's largest city, Dunedin. It was named after the English politician John Hampden...
and was a founding member of the Entomological Society of New Zealand.
One of his most remarkable biological discoveries was a new genus of caddis-fly
Trichoptera
The caddisflies are an order, Trichoptera, of insects with approximately 12,000 described species. Also called sedge-flies or rail-flies, they are small moth-like insects having two pairs of hairy membranous wings...
-like primitive moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s that he described as Agathiphaga
Agathiphaga
Agathiphaga is a genus of moths in the family Agathiphagidae, known as kauri moths. This caddis fly-like lineage of primitive moths was first reported by Lionel Jack Dumbleton in 1952, as a new genus of Micropterigidae....
(Dumbleton, 1952) and which has been subsequently raised to superfamily level as the second most primitive known living lineage of moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s, Agathiphagoidea.
In 1998 a new genus of hepialid
Hepialidae
The Hepialidae is a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths.-Taxonomy and systematics:...
moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s was named Dumbletonius
Dumbletonius
Dumbletonius is a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae. There are two described species, both endemic to New Zealand.The genus was named in honour of Lionel Jack Dumbleton....
in his honour, and Hort Research has a building in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
named after him.