| Charaxes phraortes | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Subfamily: | Charaxinae |
| Tribe: | Charaxini |
| Genus: | Charaxes |
| Species: | C. phraortes |
| Binomial name | |
| Charaxes phraortes | |
Charaxes phraortes is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in north-eastern Madagascar. [3] The habitat consists of wet coastal forests.
Similar to pollux and phoebus , but has the tails on the hindwing much longer,8—9 mm. in length; the basal part of the upper surface is light red-brown and but little darker than the broad orange-brown median band; the cell of the forewing with two large black spots and the median band with large black spots in cellules 2—4; the hindwing above at the distal margin with orange-yellow transverse spots in 2—7; the hindwing beneath, with three black, white-bordered transverse spots at the costal margin in cellule 8;the ground-colour of the basal part bright red-brown. Madagascar; rare. [4]
Historical attempts to assemble a cluster of presumably related species into a "Charaxes jasius Group" have not been wholly convincing. More recent taxonomic revision, [5] corroborated by phylogenetic research, allow a more rational grouping congruent with cladistic relationships. Within a well-populated clade of 27 related species sharing a common ancestor approximately 16 mya during the Miocene, [6] 26 are now considered together as The jasius Group. [5] One of the two lineages within this clade forms a robust monophyletic group of seven species sharing a common ancestor approximately 2-3 mya, i.e. during the Pliocene, [6] and are considered as the jasius subgroup. [5] The second lineage leads to 19 other species within the Jasius group, which are split into three well-populated subgroups of closely related species.
The jasius Group (26 Species): [5]
Clade 1: jasius subgroup (7 species)
Clade 2: contains the well-populated three additional subgroups (19 species) of the jasius Group: called the brutus, pollux, and eudoxus subgroups. [5]
Further exploration of the phylogenetic relationships amongst existing Charaxes taxa is required to improve clarity.
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