The Libytheinae are a nymphalid subfamily known as snout butterflies, containing two valid genera and about ten species: six in '' Libythea'' and four in ''

Libytheana ''Libytheana'' is a genus of nymphalid butterflies in the snout butterfly subfamily, Libytheinae. ''Libytheana carinenta'' is found in both North and South America and is known to be migratory. The other species in the genus are restricted to ...

''. The common name refers to the thick labial palps (

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") an ...

s) that look like a "snout" in this subfamily. In older literature, this group was recognized as the family Libytheidae. They are medium-sized and typically a drab brown. The front legs are reduced in length and the ventral hindwings are cryptically colored to help them blend in with their surroundings. While at rest, the members of this subfamily keep their wings tightly closed to resemble dead leaves.

Classification

Libytheinae is a subfamily of the family Nymphalidae: The higher classification of Nymphalidae, at Nymphalidae.net
/ref> *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 ...

Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimat ...

, 1815 ** Subfamily Libytheinae

Boisduval Jean Baptiste Alphonse Déchauffour de Boisduval (24 June 1799 – 30 December 1879) was a French lepidopterist, botanist, and physician. He was one of the most celebrated lepidopterists of France, and was the co-founder of the Société entomo ...

, 1833 *** '' Libythea'' Fabricius, 1807 *** ''

'' Michener, 1943

References

* Freitas, A. V. L., & Brown, K. S., Jr. (2004). Phylogeny of the Nymphalidae (Lepidoptera). ''Systematic Biology'' 53(3):363-383. * Kawahara, A. Y. (2003). Rediscovery of ''Libythea collenettei'' Poulton & Riley (Nymphalidae: Libytheinae) in the Marquesas, and a description of the male. ''Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society'' 57:81-85. * Shields, O. (1984). A revised, annotated checklist of world Libytheidae. ''Journal for Research on the Lepidoptera'' 22: 264-266.

External links

Tree of Life: Libytheinae

Libytheinae
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' - Butterfly subfamilies {{Nymphalidae-stub