''Arcas'' is a genus of

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

in the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...

. The species of this genus are found in the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

. The genus was erected by

William John Swainson William John Swainson FLS, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, malacologist, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swainson was born in Dover Place, St Mary Newington, London, the eldest son of ...

in 1832. The

sister genus In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

of ''Arcas'' is ''

Theritas ''Theritas'' is a genus of gossamer-winged butterflies (family Lycaenidae) found in the Neotropics. Among the tribe Eumaeini of its subfamily Theclinae, it is usually placed in the group around the genus '' Atlides''. In particular, it seems m ...

''.

Species

* '' Arcas alleluia'' Bálint, 2002 * '' Arcas arcadia'' Bálint, 2002 * '' Arcas cypria'' (Geyer, 1837) * '' Arcas delphia'' Nicolay, 1971 -

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

* '' Arcas ducalis'' (Westwood, 1852) -

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

* '' Arcas gozmanyi'' Bálint, 2006 * '' Arcas imperialis'' (Cramer, 1775) -

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, Colombia,

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

and Brazil * '' Arcas jivaro'' Nicolay, 1971 - Ecuador and Peru * '' Arcas nicolayi'' Salazar Escobar & Constantino, 1995 * '' Arcas splendor'' (Druce, 1907) * '' Arcas tuneta'' (Hewitson, 1865) - Brazil two forms

References

Bálint, Zs., 2006 Arcas Swainson, 1832 is revisited: review of some species-group names, identification of the sister group and a key for species (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae: Eumaeini) ''Annales historico-naturales Musei nationalis hungarici'' 98 :147-158.

External links

at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' Eumaeini Lycaenidae of South America Lycaenidae genera Taxa named by William John Swainson {{Eumaeini-stub