Pacific-islands
Guides
Acinia picturata
sourbush seed fly
Acinia picturata, the sourbush seed fly, is a tephritid fruit fly species first described by Snow in 1894. It has been recorded in association with Pluchea odorata (Asteraceae), representing a documented host plant relationship. The species has established populations in both native and introduced ranges across the Americas and Pacific islands.
Agathiphagidae
Agathiphagidae is a small moth family whose only living genus is Agathiphaga, commonly called kauri moths. It is an early-diverging lineage of Lepidoptera and lacks a functional proboscis. Its larvae are tied to kauri trees in the genus Agathis, feeding in sapwood and sometimes associating with seeds. Living species are recorded from northeastern Australia and the southwest Pacific.
Coccotrypes distinctus
Coccotrypes distinctus is a species of bark beetle in the family Curculionidae. It has a broad, disjunct distribution spanning tropical and subtropical regions across multiple continents and oceanic islands. The species was described by Wood and Bright in 1992 and has been recorded from Sri Lanka, Pacific Islands from New Guinea to Hawaii, the southern United States, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Suriname, and Guiana. As a member of the genus Coccotrypes, it likely exhibits the typical morphology of small, cylindrical bark beetles adapted for life beneath bark.
Efate
Efate is a genus of jumping spiders in the family Salticidae. The genus is documented from Pacific islands and island groups, including Vanuatu, Guam, the Caroline and Marshall Islands, Samoa, and Fiji. Available descriptions characterize these spiders as small, ant-like, and about 3–5 mm long, with a flattened carapace. In the described species Efate raptor, males have enlarged first legs that give the front of the body a raptorial appearance.
Holoplagia guamensis
A minute black scavenger fly in the family Scatopsidae. Described from Guam and subsequently recorded from the Hawaiian Islands, the Galápagos Islands, and widely across Brazil. The species is one of the few Holoplagia with documented occurrence outside its type locality.
Hortophora
Hortophora is a genus of orb-weaver spiders in the family Araneidae. The genus was established in 2021 during a taxonomic revision of Australasian garden orb-weavers. Available summaries list species from Australia and several South Pacific islands, including New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, and Norfolk Island. Details that vary among its species should not be treated as traits of every Hortophora spider.
Leptotarsus
Leptotarsus is a genus of true crane flies (Tipulidae) established by Guerin-Meneville in 1831. The genus is taxonomically complex, containing numerous subgenera (including Aldrovandia, Araucomyia, Aurotipula, Chlorotipula, Habromastix, Leptotipula, Longurio, Macromastix, Maoritipula, Pehlkea, Phymatopsis, Tanypremna, and others) that reflect morphological diversity across multiple biogeographic regions. Species are distributed across the Southern Hemisphere, with significant representation in Australia, New Zealand, South America, and various Pacific and Atlantic islands. The genus is characterized by elongated body proportions typical of crane flies, with substantial variation in size, coloration, and leg morphology among constituent species.
Mecyclothorax
Mecyclothorax is a diverse genus of ground beetles (Carabidae), with 437 species listed under the GBIF genus record. Its greatest documented concentrations are on Pacific islands, especially the Hawaiian and Society Islands, where multiple species have been described from individual volcanic landscapes. The genus also includes species beyond those island radiations, so local examples should not be treated as a complete picture of its range.
Psamatodes abydata
Dot-lined angle, Dot-lined and Dark-shaded Angles and Allies
Psamatodes abydata, commonly known as the dot-lined angle, is a geometrid moth native to the Neotropics and southern United States. The species has been introduced to the Pacific region, with established populations in Hawaii since 1970 and subsequent spread to other Pacific islands. It is recognized as a highly mobile species capable of regular northward dispersal beyond its core range. Taxonomic placement has shifted between the genera Psamatodes and Macaria, with current sources recognizing both names in use.
Rogmocrypta
Rogmocrypta is a genus of small jumping spiders in the family Salticidae, established by Eugène Simon in 1900. The 2017 revision treated seven nominal species, including five described from New Caledonia, while noting that two older names lacked type material for a complete revision. The genus is recorded from New Caledonia and older records include the Philippines and Singapore, although the relationships of those latter records were questioned. Rogmocrypta spiders are compact and are distinguished from related genera by structural characters of the male palps and female genitalia.
Tectocoris
Tectocoris is a genus of shield-backed bugs in the family Scutelleridae. The genus is currently represented by Tectocoris diophthalmus, a species documented from eastern and northern Australia and nearby Pacific islands. This bug is conspicuous for its variable red-orange body and metallic blue-green patches. Research on the species has linked those colors to distinct pigment and microscopic structural mechanisms.
Xanthagrion
Xanthagrion is an accepted genus of damselflies in the family Coenagrionidae. Current GBIF and iNaturalist taxonomies each recognize one species, Xanthagrion erythroneurum, so the genus is represented by a single described species in those databases. The red-and-blue damsel is distinguished by a bright red face and thorax, pale abdomen, and prominent red wing veins. That species has been recorded across Australia and several southwest Pacific islands, in still or slow-moving freshwater habitats.