1 Dry-country Oxycanus at Moruya, NSW
Identification history
| Oxycanus rufescens | 4 Apr 2026 | ibaird | ||
| Oxycanus rufescens | 2 Apr 2026 | WendyEM | ||
| Unverified | 25 May 2022 | LisaH |
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User's notes
I am assuming these are a male and female? There were two on the window at night, and then a further three the next day (two dark coloured, three lighter).
7 comments
WendyEM
wrote:
2 Apr 2026
Despite being described as 'Dry country" iNat has recorded this species on the southern New South Wales coast as well as the Otway ranges and East Gippsland in Victoria.
ibaird
wrote:
3 Apr 2026
Yes. the ALA shows one record from the Grampians in western Victoria, whereas most records are from SE Australia including Tasmania.
WendyEM
wrote:
3 Apr 2026
Ian, how do you think the antennae compare with samples in Moths of Vic Pt.6 CD for the species. I'm not sure.
ibaird
wrote:
4 Apr 2026
Although the antennae are not sharp except in the first image compared to the CD and examples of O. rufescens on iNaturalist I think their overall size and shape are not inconsistent with the CD male antennae for that species. The out of focus antennae appear to show the same 'jizz' as seen on iNaturalist examples. (Note 'jizz' was a favourite term used by naturalist and ornithologist Graham Pizzey to describe the overall look of a species combining different criteria).
WendyEM
wrote:
4 Apr 2026
google AI does acknowledge that definition ! As opposed to 'vulgar' use or the 'music genre used in Star Wars' - I did not know that one!
ibaird
wrote:
4 Apr 2026
A reference to 'jizz' by Graham Pizzey may be found in the last paragraph of the section 'Recognizing birds by habit and behaviour', part of the 'Introduction' pp. 9-17 of Pizzey and Knight (1997) 'Field Guide to Birds of Australia' HarperCollinsPublishers, Australia.
Location information
- Places Moruya, NSW
Sighting information
- 5 Abundance
- LisaH Recorded by
-
Collections
LisaH NatureMapr Swift and Ghost moths (Hepialidae) Moths (Lepidoptera) Insects Oxycanus rufescens
Additional information
- 25mm to 50mm Animal size
Species information
- Oxycanus rufescens Scientific name
- Dry-country Oxycanus Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 693m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes