''Charaxes tectonis'', the mountain silver-barred charaxes, is a
butterfly
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
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 found in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
and
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
*''Charaxes tectonis tectonis'' (eastern Nigeria, Cameroon: west to the Bamenda Forest and Mount Oku)
*''Charaxes tectonis nebularum'' Darge, 1977.Darge, P. 1977 Un nouveau ''Charaxes'' orophile de République Unie de Cameroun: ''Charaxes druceanus nebularum'', n. subsp. ''Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de Mulhouse'' 1977 (Jan-Mar): 9-12. (Cameroon: Manengouba massif)
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 within this clade 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"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 and are considered as the ''jasius'' subgroup. The second lineage leads to 19 other species within the Jasius group, which are split into three well-populated subgroups of closely related species.
The ''jasius'' Group (26 Species):
Clade 1: ''jasius'' subgroup (7 species)
Clade 2: contains the well-populated three additional subgroups (19 species) of the jasius Group: called the ''brutus'', ''pollux'', and ''eudoxus'' subgroups.
*the ''eudoxus'' subgroup (11 species):
*''
Charaxes eudoxus
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''Charaxes eudoxus'', the Eudoxus charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the ...
Charaxes richelmanni
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''Charaxes richelmanni'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. The habitat consists of lowland eve ...
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 ...
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Charaxes andranodorus
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''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 ...
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Charaxes andrefana
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, w ...
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Further exploration of the phylogenetic relationships amongst existing ''Charaxes'' taxa is required to improve clarity.
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 ...