''Redonda'' is a

butterfly 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 ...

genus from the subfamily

Satyrinae The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies). They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known divers ...

in 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 ...

. The genus was erected by Michael Jan Adams and George Igor Bernard in 1981. It is endemic to the

Cordillera de Merida páramo The Cordillera de Merida páramo (NT1004) is an ecoregion containing páramo (high moorland) vegetation above the treeline in the Andes mountain range of Venezuela. The isolated habitat has many endemic species. It is relatively stable and intact. ...

in Mérida, Venezuela. There are 10 known species, which are separated in distinct mountain ranges. Most species show some degree of

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

in wing size, in the most extreme cases females show some degree of wing deformation which might point to incipient

brachyptery Brachyptery is an anatomical condition in which an animal has very reduced wings. Such animals or their wings may be described as "brachypterous". Another descriptor for very small wings is microptery. Brachypterous wings generally are not functi ...

Taxonomy and nomenclature

The genus was described by Adams and Bernard in 1981 based on wing venation, male genitalia, wing color pattern and ecological characteristics of 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 ...

''Pedaliodes empetrus'' originally described by German

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Theodor Otto Thieme Theodor Alexander Otto Thieme ( 24 January 1857, Oldisleben – 1 July 1907, Berlin?) was a German entomologist. Thieme was a teacher (oberlehrer). He specialised in the Coleoptera and Satyrinae of the neotropics. His work on Pronophilina is espe ...

in 1905. These authors considered the genus to be monobasic, but recognized two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

, and suggested a close relationship with two other endemic genera in isolated mountain ranges. Another species was described 20 years later, '' Redonda bordoni'', from the southwest corner of the

Cordillera de Mérida The Cordillera de Mérida is a series of mountain ranges, or massif, in northwestern Venezuela. The Cordillera de Mérida is a northeastern extension of the Andes Mountains and the most important branch of the Venezuelan Andes. The ranges run south ...

Táchira Táchira State ( es, Estado Táchira, ) is one of the 24 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal. Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,908. At the end of the 19t ...

. Other taxa were already recognized, but there were evident gaps in distribution and ecological data and no formal description was attempted until 2015.Ferrer-Paris, J. R. (2000). "The genus ''Redonda'' (Lepidoptera: Satyrinae): a model to study adaptation and distribution in the páramos of Venezuela". er Genus ''Redonda'' (Lepidoptera: Satyrinae): Fallstudie über Anpassung und Verbreitung in den Páramos von Venezuela Bayreuth: Universität Bayreuth, i+ xiii + 111 pp. ipl. Biol. thesisPyrcz, T. W. (2010). "Evolution of butterflies of the genus ''Redonda'' (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae), and their adaptation to the high Andean environment". Pp. 265–273. In: Mirek, Z.; Flakus, A.; Krzanowska, A.; Paulo, A. & Wojtusiak, J. (eds.): ''The Nature and Culture of Latin America''. Review of Polish Studies. Kraków: Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences. There are 10 currently recognized and described species: * '' Redonda bolivari'' Adams & Bernard, 1981 * '' Redonda bordoni'' Viloria & Pyrcz, 2003 * '' Redonda castellana'' Viloria & Camacho, 2015 * '' Redonda centenaria'' Viloria & Camacho, 2015 * '' Redonda chiquinquirana'' Ferrer-Paris, 2015 * '' Redonda empetrus'' (Thieme, 1905) * '' Redonda frailejona'' Ferrer-Paris & Costa, 2015 * '' Redonda lathraia'' Viloria & Camacho, 2015 * '' Redonda leukasmena'' Viloria & Camacho, 2015 * '' Redonda lossadana'' Ferrer-Paris, 2015

Systematics and biogeography

The high species diversity of the subtribe

Pronophilina Pronophilina is a Neotropical subtribe of butterflies of the subfamily Satyrinae. They are a species-rich group with highest diversity in the tropical and subtropical mountains, especially the Andes. Before 1970, they were poorly studied, but re ...

has inspired multiple theories about speciation and diversification processes.

Páramo Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

-dwellers might represent ancient or relictual taxa from open low-land biomes that were isolated by the up-lifting of the Andes, or they might be the result of recent radiation due to specialization and isolation.Adams, Michael J. (1985). "Speciation in the pronophiline butterflies (Satyridae) of the northern Andes". ''Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera''. Supl. 1: 33–49.Viloria, A. L. (1999). ''Studies on the Systematics and Biogeography of Some Montane Satyrid Butterflies (Lepidoptera)''. Imperial College, London. PhD Thesis.Viloria, A. L. (2003). "Historical biogeography and the origins of the satyrine butterflies of the tropical Andes (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera)". In: Llorente J. Morrone, J.J. (Eds.) ''Una perspectiva latinoamericana de la biogeografía'' Universidad Autónoma de México, México. Preliminary analysis suggest that the genus is monophyletic, and the speciation sequence seems to correspond to the sequence of up-lifting and separation of the páramo biome in recent geological times.

Conservation

'' R. bordoni'' is listed as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

in Venezuela's Red Book of Fauna.

References

* Viloria, A. L. "Mariposa braquíptera de Bordón", in ''Libro Rojo de la Fauna Venezolana'' (third edition), Jon Paul Rodríguez y Franklin Rojas-Suarez (editors). Provita y Shell de Venezuela, S.A. Caracas 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Redonda (Butterfly) Satyrini Páramo fauna Butterfly genera