Dominickus

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Dominickus is an extinct genus of moth-like butterflies in the family Castniidae, with a single species, Dominickus castnioides. It lived in the late Eocene, about 34 million years ago, in lake deposits near Guffey, Colorado, in the Florissant Formation. The species is known from only one fossil—almost a complete pair of forewings preserved as a compression in fine shale. The holotype, P.22949, is kept at the Field Museum in Chicago. Norman B. Tindale described the genus in 1985, naming it after Richard B. Dominick. At first, scientists thought it might be related to early butterflies and moths, but it is now considered closely related to modern Castniidae, with similarities to Castnia psittacus, though it lacks a small crossvein found in some living relatives. The Florissant rocks were once dated to the Oligocene but are now placed in the late Eocene Priabonian stage. The forewings measure about 16.4 mm long and 9.4 mm wide, with a broad triangular shape and a rounded tip. The scales aren’t preserved in the fossil, but a possible fringe is visible along the wing edge. Photos suggest a color pattern with a darker front edge that widens toward the middle and a light base.