page_title: Saturniidae
section_title: Systematics and evolution
hierarchical_section_title: Saturniidae / Systematics and evolution
caption_attribution_description: Anisota stigma, adult male
context_page_description: Saturniidae, commonly known as saturniids, is a family of Lepidoptera with an estimated 2,300 described species. The family contains some of the largest species of moths in the world. Notable members include the emperor moths, royal moths, and giant silk moths.
  Adults are characterized by large, lobed wings, heavy bodies covered in hair-like scales, and reduced mouthparts. They lack a frenulum, but the hindwings overlap the forewings to produce the effect of an unbroken wing surface. Saturniids are sometimes brightly colored and often have translucent eyespots or "windows" on their wings. Sexual dimorphism varies by species, but males can generally be distinguished by their larger, broader antennae. Most adults possess wingspans between 1-6 in, but some tropical species such as the Atlas moth may have wingspans up to 12 in. Together with certain Noctuidae, Saturniidae contains the largest Lepidoptera and some of the largest insects alive today.
context_section_description: In terms of absolute numbers of species, the Saturniidae are most diverse in the Neotropics. Also, their most ancient subfamilies occur only in the Americas. Only the very "modern" Saturniidae are widely distributed across most parts of the world. Thus, it is quite safe to assume – even in the absence of a comprehensive fossil record – that the first Saturniidae originated in the Neotropical region. Note that at least two of the subfamilies included below are commonly treated as separate families (Oxyteninae and Cercophaninae).
  The following list arranges the subfamilies in the presumed phylogenetic sequence, from the most ancient to the most advanced. Some notable genera and species are also included.
  Subfamily Oxyteninae (3 genera, 35 species)
  Oxytenis
  Subfamily Cercophaninae (4 genera, 10 species)
  Subfamily Arsenurinae (10 genera, 60 species, Neotropics)
  Paradaemonia Bouvier, 1925
  Subfamily Ceratocampinae (27 genera, 170 species, Americas)
  Adeloneivaia
  Anisota
  Anisota stigma – spiny oakworm moth
  Anisota senatoria – orange-striped oakworm moth
  Citheronia
  Citheronia azteca
  Citheronia lobesis
  Citheronia regalis – regal moth
  Citheronia sepulcralis – pine-devil moth
  Citheronia splendens – splendid royal moth
  Dryocampa
  Dryocampa rubicunda – rosy maple moth
  Eacles
  Eacles imperialis – imperial moth
  Syssphinx
  Syssphinx bicolor
  Syssphinx hubbardi
  Syssphinx montana
  Subfamily Hemileucinae (51 genera, 630 species, Americas)
  Automeris
  Automeris io – Io moth
  Automeris louisiana
  Coloradia
  Hemileuca
  Hemileuca nevadensis – Nevada buck moth
  Hemileuca maia – buck moth
  Lonomia
  Ormiscodes
  Subfamily Agliinae (1 genus, 3 species)
  Aglia
  Aglia tau – tau emperor
  Subfamily Ludiinae (disputed) (8 genera, Africa)
  Subfamily Salassinae (1 genus, 12 species, tropics)
  Salassa
  Subfamily Saturniinae (59 genera, 480 species, tropical and temperate regions worldwide)
caption: Anisota stigma (Ceratocampinae)
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