''Cyclargus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

. It was split off from the genus ''

Hemiargus ''Hemiargus'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae found in North America, North and South America. Species Listed alphabetically: (2012): Establishing criteria for higher-level classification using molecular data: the systematics ...

'' in 1948 by Vladimir Nabokov, although many

lepidopterist Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, t ...

s have not accepted the new genus as valid. Nabokov designated '' C. ammon'' (Lucas's blue, from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

) as 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 ...

for the genus, and included ''C. dominica'' (Jamaican blue, from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

), '' C. thomasi'' (Thomas's blue, from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

and

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

), ''C. woodruffi'' (from the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...

) and ''C. erembis'' (from the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

, synonym of ''C. ammon erembis''). In 1992 K. Johnston and Matusik described ''C. sorpresus'' and ''C. kathleena'', both from Hispaniola. The critically endangered

Miami blue The Miami blue (''Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri'') is a small butterfly that is native to coastal areas of southern Florida. It is a subspecies of Thomas's blue. Once common throughout its range, it has become critically endangered, and is co ...

(''C. thomasi bethunebakeri'') is a member of the genus. ''C. a. erembis'' was described originally as a full species, as opinion is at present divided as to whether or not this might be its status.R. R. Askew and P. A. van B. Stafford, ''Butterflies of the Cayman Islands'' (Apollo Books, Stenstrup 2008) , pp. 84-85

References

*Zimmer, Dieter E. 1996. Genera, species and subspecies named by Nabokov. Excerpt from ''A Guide to Nabokov’s Butterflies and Moths''. Hamburg. Found a

- URL retrieved October 13, 2006 Cyclargus, Lycaenidae of South America Lycaenidae genera {{Polyommatini-stub