| Nacophorini | |
|---|---|
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| Mnesampela privata | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Geometridae |
| Subfamily: | Ennominae |
| Tribe: | Nacophorini Forbes, 1948 |
| Type genus | |
| Nacophora Hulst, 1896
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| Genera | |
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Many, see text | |
The Nacophorini are one of the smaller tribes of geometer moths in the subfamily Ennominae. They are the most diverse Ennominae of Australia and are widespread in the Americas. If the African genera tentatively placed herein indeed belong here, the distribution of the Nacophorini is distinctly Gondwanan, with their probable origin either of Australia, South America or even Antarctica (which was not ice-covered until a few million years ago). In Eurasia, they are rare by comparison.[1]
Despite the lack of thorough study of this tribe in modern times, as traditionally delimited they are probably nearly monophyletic, requiring only a few genera to be moved in and out of this group to make it correspond to a clade;[1] as this involves the type species, the correct name for this clade might be Lithinini or maybe Campaeini, which are both liable to be eventually merged with the Nacophorini. The Azelinini, Ennomini and perhaps the Caberini are probably their closest living relatives, and a more radical approach to monophyly would be to merge the Nacophorini, Lithinini and possibly the Campaeini into the Ennomini.