''Euschemon rafflesia'', the regent skipper, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

in the skipper

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, Hesperiidae. It is found in Australia and is the only member of its

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

, ''Euschemon'', and subfamily, Euschemoninae.Brower & Warren (2009)

Taxonomy

It was formerly often included in the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

Tagiadini The Tagiadini are a tribe in the skipper butterfly subfamily Pyrginae. Many of its genera were of uncertain relationships for long, and delimitation of the Tagiadini versus the Celaenorrhini was quite disputed at times. The species of this tribe ...

of the subfamily of spread-winged skippers, Pyrginae. However, it seems to be the single most distinct living skipper butterfly. Consequently, it is treated as a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

subfamily Euschemoninae, as was first proposed by

William Forsell Kirby William Forsell Kirby (14 January 1844 – 20 November 1912) was an English entomologist and folklorist. Life He was born in Leicester. He was the eldest son of Samuel Kirby, who was a banker. He was educated privately, and became interested ...

as early as 1897.

Synonyms

The regent skipper, in addition to the systematic uncertainties that have surrounded it for long, is a rather variable

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. Consequently, it has been treated under a variety of names, which are nowadays considered junior synonyms. For example: * ''Euschemon alba'' Mabille,

903 __NOTOC__ Year 903 ( CMIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Berengar I of Italy proceeds to issue concessions and privileges to the Lo ...

/small> * ''Euschemon alboornatus'' Olliff, 1891 * ''Euschemon viridis'' Waterhouse, 1932 * ''Exometoeca rafflesia'' (Macleay,

827 __FORCETOC__ Year 827 ( DCCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 14 – Euphemius, exiled Byzantine admiral, asks for ...

* ''Hesperia rafflesia'' Macleay,

/small>

William Sharp Macleay William Sharp Macleay or McLeay (21 July 1792 – 26 January 1865) was a British civil servant and entomologist. He was a prominent promoter of the Quinarian system of classification. After graduating, he worked for the British embassy in Par ...

named the butterfly after Sir

Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is ...

"to whose scientific ardour and indefatigable exertions in Java and Sumatra, every naturalist must feel himself indebted."

Description

The regent skipper is quite small relative to most butterflies, however, it is large relative to most species in the family Hesperiidae. Its common name refers to the gaudy coloration; mostly black with conspicuous yellow and red dots and bands. A notable trait of this

are the males'

frenulum A frenulum (or frenum, plural: frenula or frena, from the Latin ''frēnulum'', "little bridle", the diminutive of ''frēnum'') is a small fold of tissue that secures the motion of a mobile organ in the body. In human anatomy Frenula on the h ...

and

retinaculum A retinaculum (plural ''retinacula'') is a band of thickened deep fascia around tendons that holds them in place. It is not part of any muscle. Its function is mostly to stabilize a tendon. The term retinaculum is New Latin, derived from the Lati ...

which couple the fore- and hindwing together in flight. This structure is presumably

plesiomorph In phylogenetics, a plesiomorphy ("near form") and symplesiomorphy are synonyms for an ancestral character shared by all members of a clade, which does not distinguish the clade from other clades. Plesiomorphy, symplesiomorphy, apomorphy, a ...

ic for most or all

Macrolepidoptera Macrolepidoptera is a group within the insect order Lepidoptera. Traditionally used for the larger butterflies and moths as opposed to the "microlepidoptera", this group is artificial. However, it seems that by moving some taxa about, a monophy ...

, but is absent in all known Rhopalocera (butterflies) except the regent skipper and the Hedylidae (

moth-butterflies Hedylidae, the "American moth-butterflies", is a family of insects in the order Lepidoptera, representing the superfamily Hedyloidea. They have traditionally been viewed as an extant sister group of the butterfly superfamily Papilionoidea. In ...

References

* (2009):

Tree of Life Web Project The Tree of Life Web Project is an Internet project providing information about the diversity and phylogeny of life on Earth. This collaborative peer reviewed project began in 1995, and is written by biologists from around the world. The site ...

&ndash
Euschemoninae
Version of 2009-JUN-11. Retrieved 2009-DEC-24. * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1796936 Butterflies of Australia Hesperiidae Monotypic butterfly genera Hesperiidae genera