''Melanargia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of butterflies belonging to 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 ...

and the subfamily Satyrinae (formerly family Satyridae). This genus, described by

Johann Wilhelm Meigen Johann Wilhelm Meigen (3 May 1764 – 11 July 1845) was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera. Life Early years Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margareth ...

in 1828, is the only genus in the subtribe Melanargiina, Wheeler, 1903. The adults of this genus of satyrines are easily distinguished by their white wings with black veins and markings (hence the common name "marbled whites"). A peculiar phenotypic distinctiveness is also a dilated vein 12 at the base of the forewing. Butterflies of genus ''Melanargia'' are widespread from Europe and north Africa to Japan.

Species and subspecies

The investigations on genetic divergence and phylogenetic relationships among ''Melanargia'' species have recognized three subgenera (''Melanargia'', ''Argeformia'', and ''Halimede'') and reclassified the genus in 20 species and relevant subspecies as follows Subgenus ''Melanargia'' Meigen, 1829 * ''

Melanargia galathea ''Melanargia galathea'', the marbled white, is a medium-sized butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Despite its common name and appearance, this butterfly is one of the "browns", of the subfamily Satyrinae. This species can be found across most ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) - marbled white ** ''Melanargia galathea'' ssp. ''galathea'' (Linnaeus, 1758) (Europe) ** ''Melanargia galathea'' ssp. ''satnia'' Fruhstorfer, 1917 (

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

) ** ''Melanargia galathea'' ssp. ''magdalenae'' Reichl, 1975 ** ''Melanargia galathea'' ssp. ''syracusana'' Zeller, 1847 * '' Melanargia lucasi'' (Rambur, 1858) (northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

) ** ''Melanargia lucasi'' ssp. ''lucasi'' (Rambur, 1858) ** ''Melanargia lucasi'' ssp. ''meadwaldoi'' Rothschild, 1917 * '' Melanargia lachesis'' (Hübner, 1790) - Iberian marbled white * '' Melanargia evartianae'' Wagener, 1976 (northern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

) ** ''Melanargia evartianae'' ssp. ''evartianae'' Wagener, 1976 ** ''Melanargia evartianae'' ssp. ''sadjadii'' Carbonell & Naderi, 2006 * '' Melanargia teneates'' (Ménétriés, 1832) (northern Iran) ** ''Melanargia teneates'' ssp. ''teneates'' (Ménétriés, 1832) ** ''Melanargia teneates'' ssp. ''meda'' (Grum-Grshimailo, 1895) * '' Melanargia larissa'' (Geyer, 1828) - Balkan marbled white ** ''Melanargia larissa'' ssp. ''larissa'' (Geyer, 1828) ** ''Melanargia larissa'' ssp. ''hylata'' (Ménétriés, 1832) (

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

and Iran) ** ''Melanargia larissa'' ssp. ''grumi'' Standfuss, 1892 ** ''Melanargia larissa'' ssp. ''lorestanensis'' Carbonell & Naderi, 2007 ** ''Melanargia larissa'' ssp. ''iranica'' Seitz, 1907 ** ''Melanargia larissa'' ssp. ''taurica'' (Rober, 1896) ** ''Melanargia larissa'' ssp. ''massageta'' Staudinger, 1901 ** ''Melanargia larissa'' ssp. ''karabagi'' Koçak, 1976 ** ''Melanargia larissa'' ssp. ''kocaki'' Wagener, 1983 ** ''Melanargia larissa'' ssp. ''syriaca'' (Oberthür, 1894) ** ''Melanargia larissa'' ssp. ''titea'' (Klug, 1832) (= ''titania'' Calberla, 1891, = ''standfussi'' Wagener, 1983) * '' Melanargia wiskotii'' Rober, 1896 * '' Melanargia russiae'' (Esper, 1783) - Esper's marbled white (southern Europe to central Asia) ** ''Melanargia russiae'' ssp. ''russiae'' (Esper, 1793) ** ''Melanargia russiae'' ssp. ''cleanthe'' (Boisduval, 1833) ** ''Melanargia russiae'' ssp. ''japygia'' (Cyrillo, 1787) * '' Melanargia transcaspica'' (Staudinger, 1901) ** ''Melanargia transcaspica'' ssp. ''transcaspica'' (Staudinger, 1901) ** ''Melanargia transcaspica'' ssp. ''eberti'' Wagener, 1975 * '' Melanargia parce'' Staudinger, 1882 * '' Melanargia lucida'' (Staudinger, 1886) Subgenus ''Argeformia'' Verity, 1953 * '' Melanargia occitanica'' (Esper, 1793) - western marbled white (south-west of Europe, northern Africa and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

) ** ''Melanargia occitanica'' ssp. ''occitanica'' (Esper, 1793) ** ''Melanargia occitanica'' ssp. ''pelagia'' (Oberthur, 1911) ** ''Melanargia occitanica'' ssp. ''pherusa'' (Boisduval, 1832) * '' Melanargia ines'' (Hoffmannsegg, 1804) - Spanish marbled white (

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 ...

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 ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

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

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

) ** ''Melanargia ines'' ssp. ''ines'' (Hoffmannsegg, 1804) ** ''Melanargia ines'' ssp. ''fathme'' Wagner, 1913 ** ''Melanargia ines'' ssp. ''jahandiezi'' Oberthür, 1922 * '' Melanargia arge'' (Sulzer, 1776) - Italian marbled white (Italy) Subgenus ''Halimede'' (Oberthür & Houlbert, 1922) * '' Melanargia leda'' Leech, 1891 (

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

and western China) ** ''Melanargia leda'' ssp. ''leda'' (Leech, 1891) (=''yunnana'' Oberthür, 1891) ** ''Melanargia leda'' ssp. ''melli'' Wagener, 1961 * '' Melanargia halimede'' (Ménétriés, 1858) (eastern

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, north-east of China and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

) ** ''Melanargia halimede'' ssp. ''halimede'' (Ménétriés, 1858) (=''gratiani'' Wagener, 1961) ** ''Melanargia halimede'' ssp. ''coreana'' Okamoto, 1926 * '' Melanargia meridionalis'' Felder, 1862 (central and western China) ** ''Melanargia meridionalis'' ssp. ''meridionalis'' (C. & R. Felder, 1862) ** ''Melanargia meridionalis'' ssp. ''tapaishanensis'' Wagener, 1961 * '' Melanargia lugens'' Honrath, 1888 (central China) ** ''Melanargia lugens'' ssp. ''lugens'' (Honrath, 1888) (= ''ahyoui'' Wagener, 1961) ** ''Melanargia lugens'' ssp. ''hengshanensis'' Wagener, 1961 (= ''hoenei'' Wagener, 1961) ** ''Melanargia lugens'' ssp. ''montana'' (Leech, 1890) * '' Melanargia epimede'' Staudinger, 1892 (eastern Mongolia, north-east of China and Korea) ** ''Melanargia epimede'' ssp. ''epimede'' (Staudinger, 1887) ** ''Melanargia epimede'' ssp. ''pseudolugens'' (Staudinger, 1887) ** ''Melanargia epimede'' ssp. ''ganymedes'' Heyne, 1895 (

) * '' Melanargia asiatica'' (Oberthür & Houlbert, 1922) (= ''dejeani'' Wagener, 1961, = ''elisa'' Wagener, 1961, = ''sigberti'' Bozano, 2004) (China)

Gallery

File:Satyrinae - Melanargia galathea-2.JPG, ''

'', lateral view File:Satyrinae - Melanargia galathea.091.JPG, ''

'' File:Melanargiaarge.JPG, '' Melanargia arge'' File:Melanargia ines M 2.jpg, '' Melanargia ines'' File:Melanargia lachesis Roussillon.jpg, '' Melanargia lachesis'' File:Melanargia occitanica.jpg, '' Melanargia occitanica'' File:Melanargia_russiae.jpg, '' Melanargia russiae'' File:Sitirit.jpg, '' Melanargia titea'' (''Melanargia larissa'' ssp. ''titea'')

References

"''Melanargia'' Meigen, 1828"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''
BioLib.cz
* Nazari, V., Ten Hagen, W.,Bozano, G.C. 2010
Molecular systematics and phylogeny of the 'Marbled Whites' (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Satyrinae, Melanargia Meigen). ''Systematic Entomology'' 35: 132-147

External links

Satyrinae of the Western Palearctic
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1426661 Satyrini Nymphalidae genera Taxa named by Johann Wilhelm Meigen