''Pythonides lancea'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

in the skipper family, found in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and in Argentina. ''Pythonides lancea'' was first described in 1868 by

William Chapman Hewitson William Chapman Hewitson (9 January 1806, in Newcastle upon Tyne – 28 May 1878, in Oatlands Park, Surrey) was a British naturalist. A wealthy collector, Hewitson was particularly devoted to Coleoptera (beetles) and Lepidoptera (butterflies a ...

and named ''Leucochitonea lancea'', after realizing this species was different from ''P. jovianus'' previously described by

Pieter Cramer Pieter Cramer (21 May 1721 (baptized) – 28 September 1776) was a wealthy Netherlands, Dutch merchant in linen and Spanish wool, remembered as an entomologist. Cramer was the director of the Zealand Society, a scientific society located in Flushin ...

Gallery

File:CramerAndStoll-uitlandsche_kapellen_vol._4-_pl_392.jpg, ''P. jovianus'' (L,M) in a plate from Cramer & Stoll (1782). File:Fig 713 Plate 614 Zuträge zur Sammlung exotischer Schmetterlinge.png, ''P. lancea'' from Hübner & Geyer (1908). File:Pythonides jovianus JJK'1.jpg, ''P. jovianus'' observed in Cacoal, Brazil. File:Pythonides lancea - 4.jpg, ''P. lancea'' observed in Guarapiranga, Brazil.

References

Butterflies described in 1868 Hesperiidae Taxa named by William Chapman Hewitson Hesperiidae of South America Lepidoptera of Brazil {{Pyrginae-stub