Classification

Every individual organism living on this plant varies from another in their shape, color, size, habitat, and numerous other factors. This is significantly due to their classification. Each organism has a domain, clade, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species associated with it. As you look at the taxonomy of organisms, it becomes less broad and more specific from domain to species. To put it into perspective, there are only three domains in which organisms fall into while there are roughly 8.7 million species in the world (Mora et al. 2011).
Taxonomic Classification
Domain: Eukarya
   Clade: Opisthokonta
        Kingdom: Animals
           Phylum: Arthropod
              Class: Insecta
                 Order: Lepidoptera
                    Family: Sphingidae
                       Genus: Proserpinus
                           Species: Clarkiae
Domain:Eukarya
The Clarks Sphinx Moth is in the Eukarya domain, contrast to Bacteria and Archaea, because it has mitochondria, a nucleus, and membrane-bound organelles.
Clade: Opisthokonta
Members in the Opisthokonta clade, like this moth, have a synapomorphy of having posterior flagella.
Kingdom: Animals
Opisthokonta is broken down into three kingdoms: Fungi, Choanoflagellates, and Animals. Moths are certainly not fungi or choanoflagellates and we all know that moths are animals. All animals are multicellular organisms, consumers, have the ability to move, and can reproduce.
Phylum: Arthropod
Arthropods consist of crustaceans (crabs and lobsters), insects, and arachnids (spiders), therefore the moth is considered an Arthropod. Synapomorphies of Arthropods include being triploblastic, having bilateral symmetry, molting (exoskeletons), and consisting of segmented bodies.
Class: Insecta
The Insecta class contains all the insects in the world. To learn more about the Insecta and other classes of Arthropods, click here. This class is typically seperated into twenty-nine orders (Dreees and Jackman 1999). The orders are then broken down into different families using physical characteristics to compartmentalize the organisms.
Order: Lepidoptera
One of the twenty-nine orders in this class is Lepidoptera. Lepidoptera organisms from all other insects can be identified by their two sets of scale-covered wings (EOL Encyclopedia of Life 2010). The scales on their wings are crucial because it protects them from predators, enabling them to camouflage their bodies to adapt to their environment or mimic other organims the predator would not be as interested in (Science Direct 1998). If organisms did not have scale-covered wings, they would be more susceptible to predators and harm, therefore lowering their fitness. Lepidoptera, containing all butterflies and moths, is one of the most familiar and diverse orders in the world. They make up one of the four largest groups of Insecta. If you are interested in seeing pictures and learning more about the orders of insects, go to this link.
Family: Sphingdae
Organisms in this family are frequently misktaken for hummingbirds, hawk moths, or sphinx. Compared to other moths in this family, they are strong and can fly fast. Their bodies are medium to large sized and some species have wingspans of five or more inches long. Organisms in this family actively search for their food at dusk (U.S. Geological Survey 2012).
Genus: Proserpinus  
The Clarks Sphinx Moth's genus name is Proserpinus. "Proserpina" is a form of the name "Persephone" from Greek mythology. Proserpina, in Latin, means "to emerge" which makes sense for moths because they disappear and emerge all the time (The Meaning of the Name 2014).  
Species: Clarkiae: Clark's Day Sphinx Moth
Clarkiae is Latin for "of Clarkia." Clarkia is a genus in the Onagracaea plant family which are a major food source for these moths. The moth was given this species name because it was named after the famous explorer of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, William Clark. The name Sphinx is believed to have been chosen by Carl Linnaeus, a famous physician and botanist from Sweden, around the year 1758. He focused on classifying organisms into genera and species and eventually established the Binomial Nomenclature (Campbell and Reece 2008). He named it the Sphinx Moth because when the developing larvae is starled, it instintively raises up its head and bends its body to appear bigger; somewhat resembling an Egyptian Sphinx (Messenger 1997). Personally, I think that is a stretch in developing its name but Linnaues, being the worldly intellect he was, definitively chose it. How can I criticize Linnaues, the man who set the foundations of the modern binomial naming system of organisms that all scientists use today?          

If you are interested in learning more about Carl Linnaeus and the classification of organims in general, click here.

To find out some more awesome information about the Clark's Sphinx Moth, go onto the habitat and geography page! Otherwise, click back to home.