''Redonda chiquinquirana'' 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 ...

species 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 ...

. It is endemic from 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 Venezuela, in northern South America. ''R. chiquinquirana'' show high 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 wingsize, in which 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

Populations of this species were often referred to as an undescribed subspecies of '' Redonda empetrus''.

Conservation

''Redonda chiquinquirana'' 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.Ferrer-París, J. R. y Viloria, A. L. (2015). ''Mariposa paramera de Mucubají, Redonda chiquinquirana''. En: J.P. Rodríguez, A. García-Rawlins y F. Rojas-Suárez (eds.) Libro Rojo de la Fauna Venezolana. Cuarta edición. Provita y Fundación Empresas Polar, Caracas, Venezuela. Recuperado de

Lun, 09/05/2016 - 11:56

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redonda chiquinquirana Satyrini Páramo fauna Butterflies described in 2015