Sabatinca pluvialis
{{Short description|Species of moth endemic to New Zealand}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
| image =
| status = DD
| status_system = NZTCS
| taxon = Sabatinca pluvialis
| authority = Gibbs, 2014
| synonyms =
}}
Sabatinca pluvialis is a species of moth belonging to the family Micropterigidae.{{Cite Q|Q44902221}} It is endemic to New Zealand and is only known from Secretary Island. Adults of this species are on the wing from the middle of December until the middle of January. The larval host species is the liverwort Pseudomarsupidium piliferum. This species is as "Data Deficient" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.
Taxonomy
This species was first described by George Gibbs in 2014. The male holotype specimen was collected by Gibbs at Grono Spur on Secretary Island and is held in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection.
Description
Distribution
File:Secretary Island from Pendulo Reach of Doubtful Sound.jpg
This species is endemic to New Zealand and is only known from Secretary Island in Fiordland.{{Cite web|title=Sabatinca pluvialis Gibbs, 2014|url=https://www.nzor.org.nz/names/12c7c27c-2d86-4bba-9667-60e70f33427f|access-date=2021-11-06|website=www.nzor.org.nz}} It has the most restrictive range of the known species of Sabatinca in New Zealand. This species first became known to science when John Grehan collected a specimen in 1982. C. F. Butcher subsequently collected larvae now known to of this species.
Behaviour
Host species
Larvae of this species have been collected from the trunks of trees in the genus Nothofagus, upon which liverworts flourish as a result of the frequent rain that falls on the west coast and its off lying islands of New Zealand. The larvae were found to be hosted by the liverwort Pseudomarsupidium piliferum.
Conservation status
This species is classified as "Data Deficient" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.{{Cite web|title=Sabatinca pluvialis Gibbs, 2014|url=https://nztcs.org.nz/nztcs-species/29756|access-date=2021-11-06|website=nztcs.org.nz}}