---
title: "Tetrio Sphinx"
description: "Pseudosphinx tetrio — Insects & spiders. Pseudosphinx is a monotypic genus of moth in the family Sphingidae first described by Hermann Burmeister in 1856."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/tetrio-sphinx
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Tetrio Sphinx

> Pseudosphinx tetrio — Insects & spiders. Pseudosphinx is a monotypic genus of moth in the family Sphingidae first described by Hermann Burmeister in 1856.

- Scientific name: *Pseudosphinx tetrio*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 8615
- Wikidata: [Q135359](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q135359)
- iNaturalist taxon: [124467](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/124467)

## Names

- en: Tetrio Sphinx
- es: Polilla gris gigante
- fr: Sphinx du Frangipanier

## Countries with the most observations

BR (1342), PR (1003), CO (784), MX (735), CR (494), GP (279), EC (275), TT (251), MQ (229), DO (222), PA (220), VI (209)

## Summary

Pseudosphinx is a monotypic genus of moth in the family Sphingidae first described by Hermann Burmeister in 1856. Its only species, Pseudosphinx tetrio, was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1771. Its common names include tetrio sphinx, giant gray sphinx, frangipani hornworm, and plumeria caterpillar. In the island of Martinique it is best known as Rasta caterpillar (chenille rasta, in French) because of its colors which are reminiscent of the ones found in Rastafarian clothing and accessories. It is native to the tropical and subtropical Americas from the southern and southwestern United States to Brazil. The occasional…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudosphinx

## Photo

![Tetrio Sphinx](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/tetrio-sphinx/medium.jpg)

Photo: Irene · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/338279543

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/tetrio-sphinx?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).