''Prodryas persephone'' is an extinct species of brush-footed butterfly, known from a single specimen from the Chadronian-aged Florissant Shale Lagerstatte of Late Eocene Colorado. ''P. persephone'' is the first fossil butterfly to be found in North America, and is exquisitely well preserved. Its closest extant relatives are the mapwings and African admirals of the genera ''

Hypanartia ''Hypanartia'', commonly called mapwings, is a butterfly genus in the family Nymphalidae found from Mexico to South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a r ...

'' and ''

Antanartia ''Antanartia'', commonly called (African) admirals, is a genus in the family Nymphalidae found in southern Africa. They live along forest edges and are strongly attracted to rotting fruit and plant juices. For other admirals see genus, '' Vaness ...

'', respectively.

Significance

The type specimen, now held at the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard University, was the first fossil butterfly to be found in North America, and has been described as "possibly the best fossil butterfly specimen ever found". The appearance of a figure of ''Prodryas'' in Samuel Hubbard Scudder's book ''Frail Children of the Air'' influenced the paleontologist

Frank M. Carpenter Frank Morton Carpenter (September 6, 1902 – January 18, 1994) was an American entomologist and paleontologist. He received his PhD from Harvard University, and was curator of fossil insects at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology for 60 y ...

to embark on his career. Scudder exhibited the specimen at the Royal Entomological Society of London in December 1893.

Description

The single known specimen of ''P. persephone'' is a compression fossil, discovered by the " homesteader turned naturalist" Charlotte Hill, in

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

deposits of Late Eocene age of the Florissant Formation near Florissant, Colorado. The butterfly has a wing length of , and the specimen is complete, although the trailing edge of one hindwing was originally covered. The upper surface of the animal is visible, and the legs can only barely be seen. The head is turned to one side, revealing the

mouthparts Mouthparts may refer to: * The parts of a mouth ** Arthropod mouthparts *** Insect mouthparts {{disambig ...

as well as both antennae. The

wing venation Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to flight, fly. They are found on the second and third Thorax (insect anatomy), thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referre ...

is exquisitely preserved, and even the patterns of color on the wings are clearly visible. Individual wing scales can be discerned in parts of the forewing.

Taxonomy

Based on Charlotte Hill's specimen, Samuel Hubbard Scudder described the new genus and species ''Prodryas persephone'' in 1878, although the first figure only appeared in 1899. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''persephone'' alludes to Persephone, wife of

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

, and the daughter of Zeus and

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...

. (Two other species named by Scudder in the same work also bear names referring to the underworld in Greek mythology: '' Lithopsyche styx'' (referring to the river

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

) and '' Jupitellia charon'' (referring to

Charon In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon (; grc, Χάρων) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of Hades, the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the wo ...

).) Although placed in a separate genus, ''Prodryas persephone'' is thought to be closely related to ''

'', and may be even closer to ''

''.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4047418

† A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...

Eocene insects Prehistoric insects of North America Fossil taxa described in 1878 Fossil Lepidoptera Prehistoric insect genera

Florissant Formation

Significance

Description

Taxonomy

References

Further reading

External links