The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called brush-footed butterflies or four-footed butterflies, because they are known to stand on only four legs while the other two are curled up; in some species, these forelegs have a brush-like set of hairs, which gives this family its other common name. Many species are brightly coloured and include popular species such as the emperors, monarch butterfly, admirals, tortoiseshells, and fritillaries. However, the under wings are, in contrast, often dull and in some species look remarkably like dead leaves, or are much paler, producing a cryptic effect that helps the butterflies blend into their surroundings.
The superfamily Papilionoidea contains all the butterflies except for the moth-like Hedyloidea.
The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae. They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known diversity of brush-footed butterflies. The true number of the Satyrinae species is estimated to exceed 2,400.
The Morphinae are a subfamily of Nymphalidae butterflies that includes the morphos, the owl butterflies (Caligo), and related lineages. It is either considered a sister group of the Satyrinae, or disassembled and included therein.
Butterfly evolution is the origin and diversification of butterflies through geologic time and over a large portion of the Earth's surface. The earliest known butterfly fossils are from the mid Eocene epoch, between 40-50 million years ago. Their development is closely linked to the evolution of flowering plants, since both adult butterflies and caterpillars feed on flowering plants. Of the 220,000 species of Lepidoptera, about 45,000 species are butterflies, which probably evolved from moths. Butterflies are found throughout the world, except in Antarctica, and are especially numerous in the tropics; they fall into eight different families.
The Elymniini is one of the tribes of the subfamily Satyrinae. If the subfamily Satyrinae elevate to family status, this tribe shall be treated as subfamily Elymniinae. Elymniini was formerly a large group, but recently, it is considered to be include only one genus, Elymnias, according to molecular phylogenetic analyses.
The butterfly subtribe Euptychiina is a diverse group within the tribe Satyrini, occurring throughout Central and South America, in addition to a few species known from North America. Euptychiina is a predominantly lowland group, with the exception of one Asian taxon Palaeonympha opalinaButler, 1871 and the Andean genus ForsterinariaGray, 1973. The taxon was erected by Lee Denmar Miller.
The Libytheinae are a nymphalid subfamily known as snout butterflies, containing two valid genera and about ten species: six in Libythea and four in Libytheana. The common name refers to the thick labial palps (pedipalps) that look like a "snout" in this subfamily. In older literature, this group was recognized as the family Libytheidae. They are medium-sized and typically a drab brown. The front legs are reduced in length and the ventral hindwings are cryptically colored to help them blend in with their surroundings. While at rest, the members of this subfamily keep their wings tightly closed to resemble dead leaves.
Libythea labdaca, the African snout butterfly, is a member of the butterfly subfamily Libytheinae found in western and central Africa.
Bematistes is a genus of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae. The genus is often included in Acraea.
Vanessa hippomene, commonly known as the southern short-tailed admiral, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae which is native to South Africa and Madagascar.
Vanessa dimorphica is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Africa.
Bematistes alcinoe, the alcinoe bematistes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi and Tanzania.
Bematistes umbra, the clouded bematistes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.
Modica fugitiva is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Suriname.
Taygetina peribaea is a species of butterfly in the subfamily Satyrinae. It is found in the Neotropical realm.
Malaveria nebulosa is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in northern Venezuela, where it has been recorded only from the slope of the Serranía del Litoral in the Venezuelan Coastal Range. Records from Colombia and Panama are probably based on misidentifications.
Malaveria mimas is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Bolivia and Colombia.
Cissia rubricata, the red satyr, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae described by William Henry Edwards in 1871. It is found in North America.
Saurona is a genus of butterfly belonging to the family Nymphalidae found in the Neotropics. This genus was proposed as a new genus in 2023.
