This species was first described by George Hudson in 1909 using a specimen collected by A. A. Dorrien-Smith at North Arm, Carnley Harbour, Auckland Island and named Xanthorhoe oxyptera.[3] Hudson went on to discuss and illustrate this species in his book The butterflies and moths of New Zealand.[4] In 1964 Dugdale illustrated the male genitalia of this species.[5] In 1971 J. S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus Asaphodes.[6] In 1988 Dugdale confirmed this placement in his catalogue of New Zealand Lepidoptera.[2] The male holotype specimen is held at Te Papa.[7]
Description
Illustration of A. oxyptera by George Hudson.
Hudson described this species as follows:
The expansion of the wings is 1+3⁄8 in. The head, thorax, and abdomen are brownish-ochreous, the last-named with two blackish spots on the back of each segment. The palpi are slender, nearly as long as the head, whitish-ochreous. The antennae are whitish-ochreous, with long black pectinations extending to the apex. The forewings are elongate, narrow, with the apex extremely acute and the tornus rounded, rather dark greyish-brown, very glossy, with the bases of the veins and a broad costal band pale brownish-ochreous ; a small black discal dot. Hindwings narrow, apex and tornus rounded, greyish-brown, very glossy, without markings except a few extremely minute blackish marginal dots. On the underside all the wings are whitish-ochreous, the costa of the forewing and the whole of the hindwing darker ; the basal portions of all the veins are strongly marked in blackish-brown. The cilia of all the wings are very pale-ochreous.[3]
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