Charaxes smaragdalis

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Charaxes smaragdalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Charaxes
Species: C. smaragdalis
Binomial name
Charaxes smaragdalis
Butler, [1866]
Synonyms
  • Charaxes smaragdalis f. schoutedeni Ghesquière, 1933
  • Charaxes princeps Butler, 1896
  • Charaxes smaragdalis orientalis Joicey & Talbot, 1918 (preocc. Lanz, 1896)
  • Charaxes smaragdalis smaragdalis f. beni van Someren, 1964
  • Charaxes smaragdalis leopoldi f. pseudobohemani Plantrou, 1979
  • Charaxes smaragdalis f. caerulea Carpenter and Jackson, 1950

The Western Blue Charaxes (Charaxes smaragdalis) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found from Senegal to Somalia, from Angola to Kenya and from Sudan to Egypt. Its habitat is dry forest areas.[1]

The butterfly's wingspan is 85 to 100 mm. Adults are black with white and blue bands and spots. The hindwings each have two little tails.[2]

Charaxes smaragdalis figure 5

Original description

Charaxes smaragdalis, sp. n. (PI. XXXVL fig. 5.) Male. Upperside—front wings deep brown, inner margin glossed with greenish blue ; a submarginal row of six pale blue-green spots along the outer margin, the two nearest the apex very pale, placed obliquely from the costal nervure Wings crossed in the middle by a broad oblique blue-green band, very broad below, becoming abruptly narrower above the third median nervule. Hind wings, basal half deep brown, glossed with greenish blue ; apical half pale green ; outer margin deep brown, with a pale green sinuate lunulate edge and a submarginal row of seven pale green spots with white centres between the nervures. Tails very short ; inner margin densely clothed with pale brown hairs. Body deep brown. Underside olivaceous ; front wings, basal portion ochreous ; cell crossed by three small irregular angulated black bands, margined with grey ; three similar markings below the cell ; a similar line margined outwardly with ochreous at the end of the cell, and a lunulate black band, also margined with ochreous, placed obliquely from just below the end of the cell to the submedian nervure, the outer edge of the lowest lunule bluish below ; outer margin ochreous, with a submarginal row of spots, the two uppermost ones white, the two lowest ocellate, tricoloured (grey, ochreous, and black), the rest ochreous. Hind wings olivaceous, marked with various lines and spots as in C. tiridates ; but the lines are a little more angular, and the inner submarginal ochreous lunules are better defined. Hab. Congo. B.M. This species is allied to C. tiridates, from which it scarcely differs underneath.

Taxonomy

Charaxes tiridates group

the supposed clade members are

For a full list see Eric Vingerhoedt, 2013 [3]

Subspecies

  • Charaxes smaragdalis smaragdalis (Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Congo, Zaire) [4]
  • Charaxes smaragdalis butleri Rothschild, 1900 (Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Liberia) [5]
  • Charaxes smaragdalis caerulea Carpenter & Jackson, 1950 (eastern Zaire, south-western Uganda)[6]
  • Charaxes smaragdalis elgonae van Someren, 1964 (Uganda)[6]
  • Charaxes smaragdalis gobyae Plantrou, 1988 (south-eastern Sudan)[6]
  • Charaxes smaragdalis kagera van Someren, 1964 (north-western Tanzania, south-western Uganda)[6]
  • Charaxes smaragdalis kigoma van Someren, 1964 (Tanzania)[6]
  • Charaxes smaragdalis leopoldi Ghesquière, 1933 (northern Angola, eastern Congo, south-western Zaire)[6]
  • Charaxes smaragdalis metu van Someren, 1964 (south-western Sudan, northern Uganda)[6]
  • Charaxes smaragdalis toro van Someren, 1964 (western Uganda)[6]
  • Charaxes smaragdalis allardi Bouyer & Vingerhoedt, 1997 [6]

References

  1. ↑ Frankenbach, B. Turlin ; [editors:] Erich Bauer, Thomas (2007). Butterflies of the world. Goecke & Evers. p. iv. ISBN 9783937783321. 
  2. ↑ butterflycorner
  3. ↑ "African Charaxes/Charaxes Africains Eric Vingerhoedt, 2013". 
  4. ↑ "Charaxes smaragdalis smaragdalis". African Butterfly Database. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  5. ↑ "Charaxes smaragdalis butleri". African Butterfly Database. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 "African Butterfly Database". African Butterfly Database. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 

External links

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