''Precis'' is a genus of

nymphalid 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 ...

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 ...

that

Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796–1805), a founding work of entomology. Scientific career Hübner was the author of '' ...

described in 1819. They are commonly known as commodores and are found in

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 ...

. Two species are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Description

''Precis'' are medium-to-large butterflies (wingspan up to 5 cm). The upperside ground colour is black with white, pink, green, or blue spots and bands, the upperside may also have a brownish ground colour. The wings often have eyespots. The outer wing margins are wavy and toothed or scalloped. Several species occur in multiple colour forms (morphs). They tend to have distinct rainy-season and dry-season

forms Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data * ...

, that of the gaudy commodore being the most extreme. Transitional forms are also known.

Biology

''Precis'' are

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

species. They are good fliers. The larvae feed on

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Precis'' is closely allied to ''

Junonia ''Junonia'' is a genus of nymphalid butterflies, described by Jacob Hübner in 1819. They are commonly known as buckeyes, pansies or commodores. This genus flies on every continent except Antarctica. The genus contains roughly 30 to 35 species. ...

''. The two genera differ in the structure of their genitalia and larval food plant choice. 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 is '' Precis octavia''.

Species

Listed alphabetically:"''Precis''_Hübner,_[1819]"
at_Markku_Savela's_''Lepidoptera_and_Some_Other_Life_Forms'' *_''Precis_actia.html" ;"title="819]"">"''Precis'' Hübner, [1819]"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' * ''Precis actia">819]"">"''Precis'' Hübner, [1819]"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' * ''Precis actia'' Distant, 1880 — air commodore * ''Precis andremiaja'' Boisduval, 1833 * ''Precis antilope'' (Feisthamel, 1850) — darker commodore * ''Precis archesia'' (Cramer, [1779]) — garden inspector or garden commodore * ''

Precis ceryne ''Precis ceryne'', the marsh commodore, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, native to Subsaharan Africa. Wingspan: 40–45 mm in males and 42–50 mm in females. Subspecies *''P. c. ceryne'' – Republic of the Congo, ...

'' (Boisduval, 1847) — marsh commodore * ''

Precis coelestina ''Precis coelestina'', the ocellated commodore, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa, Kasai, Sankuru ...

'' Dewitz, 1879 — ocellated commodore * ''

Precis cuama ''Precis cuama'', the paler commodore, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Shaba), eastern and central Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially t ...

'' (Hewitson, 1864) — paler commodore * ''

Precis eurodoce ''Precis eurodoce'', the Madagascar commodore, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found on Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; fren ...

'' (Westwood, 1850) — Madagascar commodore * '' Precis frobeniusi'' Strand, 1909 — toothed commodore * '' Precis limnoria'' (Klug, 1845) — white-spotted commodore * '' Precis milonia'' C.&R.Felder, 867/small> — broad-banded commodore * '' Precis octavia'' (Cramer,

777 777 may refer to: * 777 (number), a number * AD 777, a year of the Julian calendar * 777 BC, a year in the 8th century BC * Boeing 777, a commercial jet airliner :* Boeing 777X, the newer generation of the Boeing 777. Art and entertainment Alb ...

— gaudy commodore * ''

Precis pelarga ''Precis pelarga'', the fashion commodore, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae which is native to tropical sub-Saharan Africa. Description ''Precis pelarga'' has a wingspan reaching about . The forewings are falcate. A clearer ba ...

'' (Fabricius, 1775) — fashion commodore * '' Precis rauana'' (Grose-Smith, 1898) — montane commodore * '' Precis sinuata'' Plötz, 1880 — wide-banded commodore * '' Precis tugela'' Trimen, 1879 — African leaf butterfly, dry-leaf butterfly or eared commodore ''

Incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

'' * '' Precis permagna'' Martin, 1920

References

Seitz, A. ''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 51 et seq.

External links

Images representing ''Precis'' at EOL
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7239493 Junoniini Butterfly genera Taxa named by Jacob Hübner