Belongs within: Obtectomera.
Contains: Catagramma, Adelpha, Satyrinae, Morphinae, Charaxinae, Heliconiinae, Limenitidinae, Biblidinae, Nymphalinae, Apaturinae, Danaini, Ithomiini.
The Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies, are a cosmopolitan group of butterflies in which only four normal walking legs are usually present. The first pair of legs is reduced and pressed against the thorax except in females of the basal subfamily Libytheinae. The Libytheinae are a small but widely distributed subfamily whose larvae feed on plants of the genus Celtis (Braby 2000b). Other subfamilies include the Danainae, milkweed butterflies, which are large butterflies with an exceptionally strong, leathery body and wings (Braby 2000b). The Cyrestinae include the map butterflies of the Old World tropics and the Neotropical daggerwings.
Characters (from Braby 2000b): Adults with antennae relatively close together at base; fore wing with five branches in radial vein, some staked, and one anal vein; hind wing with humeral vein usually present (sometimes vestigial or absent), two anal veins, and tornus usually rounded, rarely tailed; both sexes with only four normal functional legs, fore legs substantially smaller in size, pressed against thorax and non-functional except in female Libytheinae, male with fore tarsus often reduced to a single elongate segment that may be clubbed or brush-like without an apical claw, female with fore tarsus usually five-segmented and clawed apically; fore tibia lacking epiphysis. Egg very variable in shape, may be spherical, almost spherical with apex flattened, dome-shaped, barrel-shaped, or elongate and subconical with apex slightly truncate; base always flattened; chorion often with strong longitudinal ribs and fine transverse ribs, sometimes smooth. Final instar larva cylindrical with fine hairs, may also have numerous bristles, branched spines or several long paired filaments; head sometimes bearing horns; osmeterium usually absent; crochets of prolegs in uni-, bi- or triordinal mesoseries. Pupa normally suspended by cremaster, occasionally lying unattached on ground, never provided with central silken girdle.
<==Nymphalidae |--Libytheinae [Libytheidae]WWN03 | |--Prolibythea vagabundaGE05 | |--Barbarothea florissantiGE05 | |--Libytheana Michener 1943B00 | | `--L. bachmaniiS72 | | |--L. b. bachmaniiS72 | | `--L. b. larvataS72 | `--Libythea Fabricius 1807B00 | |--L. carinenta (Cramer 1779)S55 | |--L. celtisWWN03 | |--L. geoffroy Godart 1824B00 | | |--L. g. geoffroyB12 | | |--L. g. genia Waterhouse 1938B12 | | `--L. g. nicevillei Olliff 1891B00 | `--L. larvataE66 `--+--+--+--SatyrinaeWWN03 | | `--+--MorphinaeWWN03 | | `--+--CharaxinaeWWN03 | | `--Calinaga Moore 1857B00 [CalinaginaeWWN03] | | `--C. buddhaWWN03 | `--+--+--HeliconiinaeWWN03 | | `--LimenitidinaeWWN03 | `--+--+--BiblidinaeWWN03 | | `--+--NymphalinaeWWN03 | | `--ApaturinaeWWN03 | `--CyrestinaeWWN03 | |--CyrestiniWWN03 | | |--Cyrestis thyodamasWWN03 | | `--DicorrhagiaWWN03 | `--PseudergoliniWWN03 | |--Amnosia decoraWWN03 | |--Stibochiona niceaWWN03 | `--PseudergolisWWN03 `--Danainae [Danaidae, Euploeiinae, Ithomiinae, Limnadinae]WWN03 | i. s.: Hirsutis salvadoris (Staudinger 1885)FS54 | MechanitisFS54 | |--M. doryssus Bates 1864FS54 | |--M. istmiaFS54 | | |--M. i. istmiaFS54 | | `--M. i. lycidice Bates 1863FS54 | `--M. polymnia (Linnaeus 1758)G20, L58 [=Papilio (Heliconius) polymniaL58, G20] | Napeogenes tolosa (Hewitson 1856)FS54 | DircennaS55 | |--D. dero (Hübner 1823)S55 | |--D. klugii (Geyer 1837)FS54 | `--D. loreta Haensch 1903S55 | Leucothyris victorinaFS54 | |--L. v. victorinaFS54 | `--L. v. paula Weymer 1884FS54 | HymenitisFS54 | |--H. andromicaS72 | |--H. nero (Hewitson 1854)FS54 | `--H. oto (Hewitson 1854)FS54 | Thyridia confusaS55 | |--T. c. confusaS55 | `--T. c. psamathe (Godman & Salvin 1898)S55 | Xanthocleis psidii (Linnaeus 1758)S55 | CeratiniaS55 | |--C. niseS55 | | |--C. n. niseS55 | | `--C. n. peruensis (Haensch 1905)S55 | `--C. tutiaS55 | |--C. t. tutiaS55 | `--C. t. chanchamaya (Haensch 1905)S55 | Corbulis cassotisS55 | |--C. c. cassotisS55 | `--C. c. cajona (Haensch 1905)S55 | Heterosais edessaS55 | |--H. e. edessaS55 | `--H. e. nephele (Bates 1862)S55 | Archaeolycorea ferreiraiGE05 | Parantica Moore 1880NS07 | Hypothyris eucleaS72 | Tithorea harmoniaS72 | Anosia plexippusB89 |--DanainiWWN03 |--IthomiiniWWN03 `--Tellervo Kirby 1894B00 [Tellervinae, TellerviniWWN03] `--T. zoilus (Fabricius 1775)B00 |--T. z. zoilusB00 |--T. z. digulicaB00 `--T. z. gelo Waterhouse & Lyell 1914B00 Nymphalidae incertae sedis: AglaisKIR02 |--A. karaganicaKIR02 `--A. urticaeA71 Percnodaimon pluto (Fereday 1872)H82 Philaethria didoS55 |--P. d. didoS55 `--P. d. ostara (Röber 1906)S55 Eueides eanesS55 |--E. e. eanesS55 `--E. e. eanides Stichel 1903S55 Historis orion (Fabricius 1775)S55 Gynaecia dirce (Linnaeus 1764)S55 PyrrhogyraS55 |--P. edoclaS55 | |--P. e. edoclaS55 | `--P. e. maculata Staudinger 1888S55 `--P. otolais Bates 1864S55 Temenis laothoeS55 |--T. l. laothoeS55 |--T. l. ottonis Fruhstorfer 1907S55 `--T. l. violetta Fruhstorfer 1907S55 Nessaea obrinus (Linnaeus 1764)S55 Myscelia sophronia (Godtart 1823)S55 Eunica excelsa Godman & Salvin 1877S55 CatagrammaS55 AdelphaS55 DoxocopaS55 |--D. agathina (Cramer 1777)S55 |--D. cherubinaS55 | |--D. c. cherubinaS55 | `--D. c. parva (Röber 1916)S55 `--D. lavinia (Butler 1866)S55 Polygrapha cyanea (Godman & Salvin 1868)S55 Zaretes isidoraS55 |--Z. i. isidoraS55 `--Z. i. cacica Staudinger 1888S55 Paramo Adams & Bernard 1977O08 `--*P. aculata (Krüger 1924) [=Pedaliodes aculata]O08 Blepolensis catherinaeGE05 Neorinopis sepultaGE05 EugoniaGE05 |--E. angulariaR13 `--E. atavaGE05 Batesia hypochloraGE05 Hypanartia lethe (Fabricius 1793)S55 ArchimestraL88 Issoria sinhaTYM08 |--I. s. sinhaTYM08 `--I. s. pelewensis Nakamura 1932TYM08 Callerebia cyclopiaTYM08 |--C. c. cyclopiaTYM08 `--C. c. yoshikurana Kishida & Nakamura 1941TYM08 Neorinopsis sepultaRJ93 Limnas chrysippusB01a (see below for synonymy) SamantaB01a |--S. perspicuaB01a `--S. simonsiB01a MonotrichtisB01b |--M. auricrudaB01b |--M. keniaB01b `--M. sufitzaB01a NeocoenyraB01b |--N. duplexB01a `--N. gregoriiB01b Physcoenura ledaB01a Panopea expansaB01a EuraliaB01a |--E. deceptorB01a `--E. wahlbergiB01a Hamanumida daedalusB01a EuphaedraB01a |--E. neophronB01a `--E. violaceaB01a Euryphene senegalensisB01a Hypanis ilithyiaB01a Pardopsis punctatissimaB01a Crenis boisduvaliB01b Neptidopsis ophione [incl. N. ophione var. velleda]B01b BybliaB01b |--B. ilithyia [incl. B. ilithyia var. simplex]B01b `--B. vulgarisB01b PlanemaB01b |--P. aganiceB01b |--P. geaB01b `--P. montana [incl. P. bertha, P. meruana]B01b
Limnas chrysippusB01a [incl. L. alcippoidesB01c, L. alcippusB01c, L. chrysippus var. dorippusB01a, L. chrysippus var. klugiiB01b]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
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