''Charaxes jasius'', the two-tailed pasha, is a butterfly in the family

Nymphalidae 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 red ...

. It is the only European species of the genus ''

Charaxes The rajah and pasha butterflies, also known as emperors in Africa and Australia, (genus ''Charaxes'') make up the huge type genus of the brush-footed butterfly subfamily Charaxinae, or leafwing butterflies. They belong to the tribe Charaxini, ...

''. Divergence of the Mediterranean species ''C. jasius'' from the last common ancestor it shared with its closest related species still flying in the

Afrotropical realm The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...

most probably occurred around 2 mya, i.e. during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58"Out of Africa again: A phylogenetic hypothesis of the genus ''Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)'' based on five gene regions"
Aduse-Poku, Vingerhoedt, Wahlberg. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (2009) 53;463–478

Description

''Charaxes jasius'' is a medium to large butterfly with a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

reaching 76–83 mm in males, the female being larger. Males up to 80–100 mm

, with females even larger, may be found in Morocco. Each hindwing bears two tails, characteristic of most species of the genus. The spring seasonal brood is smaller in size compared with the second and sometimes third broods, and the two tails on each hindwing tend to curve somewhat towards each other resembling a pincer, less so in the later broods with slightly longer straighter tails. The upperside ground colour of the wings is dark brownish-black, with some changeable purplish sheen viewed at varying angles; forewing with suggestion of darker discal bars, postdiscal spots orange; hindwing with whitish patch near costal border, dusted with brownish scales; outer border of both wings deep orange-ochreous, divided by black-scaled veins. Hindwing with small submarginal blue spots, often vestigial; more developed in the female. There is some variation in the intensity of the ground colour, and in development of the postdiscal orange spots. The underside has a very characteristic mosaic appearance broadly similar to a number of related species, traversed by a jumble of bands and of brown, reddish, greyish and blackish patches, all edged with a filigree of white. Beyond the inner mosaic, a white complete discal band bridges across fore- to hindwings. The outer orange marginal coloration is present on the underside also. The female resembles the male but is larger. File:Charaxes jasius MHNT CUT 2013 3 12 male Roquebrun 34 Dorsal.jpg, alt=C. jasius. Roquebrun, France. Male Upperside, ''C. jasius''. Roquebrun, France. Male Upperside File:Charaxes jasius MHNT CUT 2013 3 12 male Roquebrun 34 Ventral.jpg, alt=C. jasius. Roquebrun, France. Male Underside, ''C. jasius''. Roquebrun, France. Male Underside

Type

This butterfly is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the genus ''

''. Pg. 220 "Recognising this fact, Ochsenheimer (1816, Schmett. Europa, vol. 4) removed Papilio jasius from Paphia, and placed it instead in his own genus Charaxes, thus making P. jasius the type-species of the latter by monotypy." The type location is Barbaria,

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Subspecies

*''C. jasius'' is a stable species with no currently recognised subspecies. It is found in Southern Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, and North Africa.

Related species

Historical attempts to assemble a cluster of presumably related species into a "''Charaxes jasius'' Group" have not been wholly convincing. More recent taxonomic revision, corroborated by phylogenetic research, allow a more rational grouping congruent with cladistic relationships. Within a well-populated

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

of 27 related species sharing a common ancestor approximately 16 mya during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

, 26 are now considered together as the ''jasius'' Group. One of the two lineages forms a robust

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

group of seven species sharing a common ancestor approximately 2–3 mya, i.e. during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58 and are considered as the ''jasius'' subgroup. The second lineage leads to 19 other species within the Jasius group, which are split in to three well-populated subgroups of closely related species. The ''jasius'' Group (26 Species). Clade 1: the ''jasius'' subgroup (7 species): *''Charaxes jasius'' *''

Charaxes epijasius ''Charaxes epijasius'', the cream-bordered charaxes or Sahel charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It flies through most of the Savannah of the Afrotropical realm except southern Africa. Description ''Charaxes epijasius'' is a medi ...

'' tat.rev.2005ref name="Turlin 2005"/> *''

Charaxes legeri ''Charaxes legeri'', the St. Leger's charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Burkina Faso, northern Benin, northern Nigeria and southern Niger. The habitat consists of woodland savanna at altitudes between 600 ...

'' *''

Charaxes saturnus ''Charaxes saturnus'', the foxy charaxes or koppie charaxes, is a butterfly that flies through most of the Savannah of the Eastern and Southern Afrotropical realm, and also occurs in suitable forest habitat locations including the forest belt of w ...

'' tat.rev.2005ref name="Turlin 2005"/> *'' Charaxes pelias'' *''

Charaxes castor __NOTOC__ ''Charaxes castor'', the giant emperor or giant charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found throughout the Afrotropical realm below the Sahel. (eastern Kenya, northern and eastern Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, easte ...

'' *''

Charaxes hansali __NOTOC__ ''Charaxes hansali'', the cream-banded charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman. Description ''Ch. hansali'' Fldr. clos ...

'' Clade 2: contains the three well-populated additional subgroups (19 species) of the jasius Group: *the ''brutus'' subgroup (4 species): *''

Charaxes brutus __NOTOC__ ''Charaxes brutus'', the white-barred emperor or white-barred Charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Africa (see subspecies section for detailed information). Its flight period is year-round. Notes on the ...

'' *''

Charaxes antiquus ''Charaxes antiquus'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found on the island of São Tomé. The habitat consists of forests and woodland. The species was named by James John Joicey and George Talbot in 1926. Description The butter ...

'' *''

Charaxes junius ''Charaxes junius'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Ethiopia and Sudan. The habitat consists of forests and woodland savanna. Description ''Charaxes junius'' is distinguished from ''brutus'' by having the discal band on ...

'' *''

Charaxes andara ''Charaxes andara'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in eastern and southern Madagascar, where it is found in Afrotropical forests. It is very similar to ''Charaxes brutus'', of which it has been considered a subspecies. De ...

'' *the ''pollux'' subgroup (4 species): *'' Charaxes pollux'' *'' Charaxes phoebus'' *'' Charaxes ansorgei'' *'' Charaxes dowsetti'' *the ''eudoxus'' subgroup (11 species): *'' Charaxes eudoxus'' *'' Charaxes lucyae'' *'' Charaxes richelmanni'' *'' Charaxes musakensis'' *'' Charaxes biokensis'' tat.rev.2005ref name="Turlin 2005"/> *'' Charaxes ducarmei'' *'' Charaxes druceanus'' *'' Charaxes tectonis'' *''

Charaxes phraortes ''Charaxes phraortes'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in north-eastern Madagascar. The habitat consists of wet coastal forests. Description Similar to '' pollux'' and ''phoebus'', but has the tails on the hindwing much lo ...

'' *''

Charaxes andranodorus __NOTOC__ ''Charaxes andranodorus'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found on Madagascar. Description This rare species is one of the most magnificent forms of ''Charaxes''. Above it agrees very nearly with ''phraortes'', the bas ...

'' *'' Charaxes andrefana'' tat.rev.2025ref name="Turlin 2005"/> The 27th species of Clade 2 has shown rapid recent divergence and is treated as a monospecific ''lactetinctus'' Group, separated from the ''jasius'' Group. Further exploration of the phylogenetic relationships amongst existing ''Charaxes'' taxa is required to improve clarity.

Distribution

This species occurs from Portugal and around the coastal

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

region to the Atlantic NW coast of Morocco, but it does not exist in the

. It occurs along the European Mediterranean coast from west

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

to the coastal islands of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

(except for the northern

Adriatic sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

coast), from the central peninsula of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

, and the coastline of southern

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

including

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

Ikaria Icaria, also spelled Ikaria ( el, Ικαρία), is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos. According to tradition, it derives its name from Icarus, the son of Daedalus in Greek mythology, who was b ...

and

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

. Its range includes the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

and

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

. Inland, the butterfly is found in locally in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

from

Huelva Huelva (, ) is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is between two short rias though has an outlying spur including nature reserve on the Gulf of Cádiz coast. The rias ...

and

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

. In

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the butterfly is found isolated inland from

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

Lozère Lozère (; oc, Losera ) is a landlocked department in the region of Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by Gard, to the west by Aveyron, ...

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitants o ...

. Further around the Eastern Mediterranean coast, it occurs in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, and continues along much of North African coast to the Atlantic Moroccan NW coast as far as coastal

Tiznit Tiznit or Tiznet ( ar, تزنيت, Tiznīt; ber, ⵜⵉⵣⵏⵉⵜ, Tiznit) is a town in the west coast of the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa, founded in 1881 by the Sultan Hassan I. It is the capital of Tiznit Province and recorded a populati ...

environs, venturing inland in a very few Moroccan locations as high as 2,400m asl.

Habitat

Its typical habitat around the Mediterranean Basin is the

Maquis shrubland 220px, Low maquis in Corsica 220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia ( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; hr, makija; ; ) is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs. Maquis is char ...

, up to 700–800 meters above sea level. This comprises thick, mixed scrub forests, often on hillsides, in hot and dry regions. The butterfly is found wherever its larval host plants are abundantly available.

Natural history

The two-tailed pasha is a fast-flying butterfly that displays territorial behaviour. The butterfly also is a noted for hill-topping. The adults of both sexes are attracted to fermenting fruits; they are attracted to the ethanol contained therein, and can be baited with wine and other alcoholic beverages.

Life cycle

''Charaxes jasius'' is bivoltine or trivoltine , i.e. it has two or three generations per year depending on latitude and altitude. Typically, the first batch of eggs are laid in May–June and the second in mid August–mid October. The second batch caterpillars spend the winter in the larval stage, and pupate the next spring. The female lays the eggs on the upper surface of the leaves of the host plant, laying no more than one egg per leaf. The caterpillar is green, cylindrical and up to long. It has rings of yellow-white raised spots on the body, yellow lateral lines along the sides, and two yellow ocelli on the back. The head bears four horns facing backwards. The caterpillar makes a leaf tent from silken threads, to which it returns after feeding on surrounding leaves. When the caterpillar is fully matured, it hangs on a twig and pupates. The pupa resembles a ripening fruit as it is first green and becomes brown as the imago develops inside. After a period that can range from two weeks to one month, the pupal case opens letting out the adult butterfly. File:Egg of Charaxes jasius - Two-tailed Pasha.jpg, Egg File:Charaxes jasius larva.jpg, Larva File:Charaxes jasius pupa.jpg, Newly formed pupa File:Pupa_of_Charaxes_jasius_just_before_hatching.jpg, Pupa ready for hatching File:Charaxes jasius bl1.jpg, Adult

Larval food plants

The preferred larval foodplant is the Strawberry Tree (''

Arbutus unedo ''Arbutus unedo'' is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe. The tree is well known for its fruits, which bear some resemblance to the strawberry — hence the common name ...

''), although secondary or perhaps accidental choices are known to include a few ''

Osyris ''Osyris'' is a genus of plants in the family Santalaceae, one of the many genera known as sandalwoods, but not one of the true sandalwood. The species of this genus are mostly hemiparasitic, meaning although they can survive and grow by themsel ...

'' species.

References

External links

*Images o
''Charaxes jasius''
at

Consortium for the Barcode of Life The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) was an international initiative dedicated to supporting the development of DNA barcoding as a global standard for species identification. CBOL's Secretariat Office is hosted by the National Museum of ...

. *Images of
''C. jasius jasius''
at

Royal Museum for Central Africa The Royal Museum for Central Africa or RMCA ( nl, Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika or KMMA; french: Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale or MRAC; german: Königliches Museum für Zentralafrika or KMZA), also officially known as the AfricaMuse ...

(Albertine Rift Project). {{Taxonbar, from=Q1320946 jasius Butterflies of Africa Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Europe Butterflies described in 1767 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus