Erebia | |
---|---|
Arran brown (type species) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Subtribe: | Erebiina |
Genus: | Erebia Dalman, 1816 |
Type species | |
Papilio ligea Linnaeus, 1758 | |
Diversity | |
Around 100 species | |
Synonyms | |
AtercoloratusBang-Haas, 1938 Contents |
Erebia is a Holarctic genus of brush-footed butterflies, family Nymphalidae. Most of the about 90–100 species (see also below) are dark brown or black in color, with reddish-brown to orange or more rarely yellowish wing blotches or bands. These usually bear black spots within, which sometimes have white center spots.
This genus has found it easy to adapt to arid and especially cold conditions. Most of its members are associated with high-altitude lands, forest clearings or high latitude and tundra. Erebia species are frequent in the Alps, Rocky Mountains, subarctic and even Arctic regions, and the cooler parts of Central Asia. In fact, the North American term for these butterflies is alpines. Palearctic species are collectively known as ringlets or arguses. However, none of these terms is used exclusively for this genus.
The genus Erebia was erected by Johan Wilhelm Dalman in 1816. As type species, the Arran brown —described as Papilio ligea by Carl Linnaeus in 1758—was chosen. This is a very complex genus with over 1300 taxa, but a massive proportion of these are junior synonyms. Some of the available names are listed by Vladimir Lukhtanov. [1] A fully comprehensive taxonomic checklist (i.e., without discussing synonymy and relationships) was published in 2008. [2]
Only three years after the genus' inception, the known species were reviewed by Jacob Hübner. [3] He established no less than five new genera for a fraction of what would eventually be named as "species" of Erebia. But things hardly improved as more and more of the diversity of these butterflies came to note. In Europe, a large number of Erebia taxa was described from the Alps. In the 19th and early 20th century the Alps were a popular destination for butterfly collectors and specimens of Alpine butterflies were very profitable for dealers. The dealers, mostly German, not only sold specimens, but were entomologists, entomological book dealers, entomological authors and publishers. Examples are Fritz Rühl, Alexander Heyne, Otto Staudinger, Andreas and Otto Bang-Haas and, in Paris, Achille and Émile Deyrolle.
This, together with the then-popular, even obsessive study of variation by entomologists – examples are James William Tutt, George Wheeler, Felix Bryk and Brisbane Charles Somerville Warren – led to very many names being applied to what may be or much more likely may not be biological species or subspecies. A further problem is the use of the term "variety". Authors of that time used this for an individual variant, a group of individuals morphologically but not otherwise related, seasonal forms, temperature-related forms, or geographic races; it was later usually taken to mean the last subspecies though this is often suspected to have been premature.
Eventually, it became common to arrange supposed species and subspecies to "species groups" (not superspecies, but an informal phenetic arrangement) as pioneered by B.C.S. Warren, [4] and attempt to resolve their true nature by and by. As molecular phylogenetic studies add to the available data, it is becoming clear that most "varieties" that have at least been commonly considered subspecies in the latter 20th century are indeed lineages distinct enough to warrant some formal degree of recognition. Another result of recent research is confirmation of the theory that this genus contains many glacial relict taxa, e.g., in the brassy ringlet group ( E. tyndarus and similar species). [5]
The number of currently recognized Erebia species is given variously around 90-100, as developments happen so fast that it is hard for authors to remain up to date regarding the newest changes. [5]
As of early 2008, the following good species and some rather distinct subspecies are listed: [6]
Coenonympha is a butterfly genus belonging to the Coenonymphina, a subtribe of the browns (Satyrinae). The latter are a subfamily of the brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae). As a rule, Palearctic species are colloquially called heaths, while Nearctic ones are called ringlets. Neither term is limited to members of this genus, however.
The Scotch argus is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. In spite of its English name argus, it is not a close relation of the brown argus nor the northern brown argus.
Erebia euryale, the large ringlet, is a species of butterfly belonging to the family Nymphalidae.
Erebia alberganus, the almond ringlet or almond-eyed ringlet, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
Erebia ligea, the Arran brown, is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae of the family Nymphalidae. This brown is widespread in south-eastern and northern Europe. It prefers mixed woodlands at low altitudes. It is rarely seen in open areas. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, and the type locality is Sweden.
Erebia medusa, the woodland ringlet, is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae of the family Nymphalidae.
Erebia tyndarus, the Swiss brassy ringlet, is a European brush-footed butterfly species of the subfamily Satyrinae.
The Arctic ringlet or Disa alpine is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae of family Nymphalidae. It is associated with wet muskeg and bogs in subarctic and Arctic climates, and is often found near the tree-line. The larva overwinters twice before undergoing metamorphosis into an adult. It is found in Arctic Europe, Arctic European Russia, Sajan, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, Yablonoi and Arctic North America.
The bright eyed ringlet is a member of the Satyridae subfamily of Nymphalidae. It is a high mountain butterfly found in the Pyrenees, Massif Central, Alps and Balkan mountains. It has recently been confirmed to occur in the southern chain of the Carpathians.
The brassy ringlets are a species group of ringlet butterflies in the genus Erebia. Though closely related, their monophyly is not completely resolved. Still, the brassy ringlets are taxa similar to E. tyndarus – the Swiss brassy ringlet –, and in many cases certainly close relatives. A notable trait of their genus is an ability to adapt well to cold and somewhat arid habitat, like taiga or regions with alpine climate. Optimal habitat in Eurasia, where most of the brassy ringlets are found, therefore occurs in two distinct belts – in the very north of the continent and in the Alpide belt – in interglacials, and in glacials in one periglacialic belt at lower altitude, in places interrupted by dry wasteland and deserts.
Erebia cassioides, the common brassy ringlet, is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae of family Nymphalidae.
Erebia callias, the Colorado alpine, is a member of the Satyridae subfamily of the Nymphalidae butterflies. It is found in alpine areas of Wyoming and Colorado in the U.S. Rocky Mountains as well as various mountain ranges in eastern Asia.
Erebia pawloskii, the yellow-dotted alpine, is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in North America in northern British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska. It is also found in the Sayan Mountains, and from northern Mongolia to Yakutia and Kamchatka. The habitat consists of grassy areas in and above wet tundra, as well as bogs.