Eight New Species of Amatissa Walker, 1862 (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) With Confirmation of the Genus in Northern Australia

ABSTRACT Examination and sequencing of Psychidae specimens from Australia confirm that the genus Amatissa Walker, 1862 is present in this region, extending its known distribution. The first multispecies phylogeny of Amatissa is presented based on mitochondrial sequence data. Three new Australian species are here described: Amatissa dingo Beaver, sp. nov. , A. tessella Beaver sp. nov. and A. brevifimbria Beaver, sp. nov. , all from far northern Queensland. Additionally, the widespread northern Australian species Plutorectis dysmorpha Turner, 1947 is recognised as a member of this genus, now Amatissa dysmorpha (Turner, 1947) comb. nov. , whose life history is newly discovered. Examination of museum specimens from nearby New Guinea for comparative purposes resulted in the additional discovery of the following four new species from this region: A. chrysosoma Beaver, sp. nov. , A. lata Beaver, sp. nov. , A. inmedia Beaver, sp. nov. and A. aurantia Beaver, sp. nov. None of our findings indicate the incursion of known pest species in this region, though the larval biology of most species remains unstudied.