''Hyantis'' is 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 "unisp ...

nymphalid 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 ...

butterfly genus. Its sole species is ''Hyantis hodeva'', which is found in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. It is uncertain which

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

this butterfly should be placed within.

Distribution

The species is distributed in the following islands: New Guinea,

Waigeo Waigeo is an island in the Southwest Papua province of eastern Indonesia. The island is also known as Amberi or Waigiu. It is the largest of the four main islands in the Raja Ampat Islands archipelago, between Halmahera and about to the nort ...

Misool Misool, formerly spelled Mysol (Dutch: Misoöl) or Misol, is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua, Indonesia. Its area is 2,034 km2. The highest point is 561 m and the main towns are Waigama, located on ...

Yapen Yapen (also Japen, Jobi) is an island of Papua (province), Papua, Indonesia. The Yapen Strait separates Yapen and the Biak Islands to the north. It is in Cenderawasih Bay off the north-western coast of the island of New Guinea. To the west is ...

and

D'Entrecasteaux Islands D'Entrecasteaux Islands () are situated near the eastern tip of New Guinea in the Solomon Sea in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The group spans a distance of , has a total land area of approximately and is separated from the Papua New G ...

Morphology

The species has three pairs of six well-developed

ocellus A simple eye or ocellus (sometimes called a pigment pit) is a form of eye or an optical arrangement which has a single lens without the sort of elaborate retina that occurs in most vertebrates. These eyes are called "simple" to distinguish the ...

on the ventral side of the

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

: one pair on the forewings near the apex and two pairs on the hindwings. Each eyespot is large and bordered with yellow, and the black "pupil" has plural small white dots inside. This species is similar to '' Taenaris'', but can be easily identified from that genus, which generally has only two or four ocellus with single white spot on its hindwings. This species is also unique in having a closed discoidal cell on each hindwing. This morphological character is also shared by the genus ''

Morphopsis ''Morphopsis'' is a genus of butterflies endemic to New Guinea. Species *'' Morphopsis albertisi'' Oberthür, 1880 *'' Morphopsis biakensis'' Joicey & Talbot, 1916 *'' Morphopsis meeki'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1905 *'' Morphopsis phippsi'' Joicey ...

'' and is generally found in 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 ...

. The early stage is unknown.

Mimicry

This species is very similar to ''Taenaris'' species, especially '' T. catops''. ''Hyantis'' is also imitated by '' Mycalesis drusillodes'' (

Satyrini The Satyrini is one of the tribe (biology), tribes of the subfamily Satyrinae. It includes about 2200 species and is therefore the largest tribe in the subfamily which comprises 2500 species. Distribution Satyrini butterflies have a Cosmopolit ...

), ''Taenaris'' by '' Elymnias agondas'' (

Elymniini The Elymniini is one of the tribe (biology), tribes of the subfamily Satyrinae. If the subfamily Satyrinae elevate to family (biology), family status, this tribe shall be treated as subfamily Elymniinae. Elymniini was formerly a large group, but ...

). It should be considered that these species may be involved in some kind of mimicry complex, but the details are not known.

Systematics

The genus ''Hyantis'' (and putatively related ''Morphopsis'') has traditionally been placed within tribe Amathusiini, even though there are differences in wing venation structures. Recent

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analyses have been gradually resolved the confusion in the phylogenetic relationships in the subfamily Satyrinae, but the phylogenetic status of this genus remains confused, with several methods of analysis showing different results. For example: within the

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

Melanitini The Melanitini (evening browns and relatives) are one of the smaller tribes of the Satyrinae in the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterfly) family. They contain the following genera: * '' Aphysoneura'' Karsch, 1894 - sometimes placed in Elymniini ...

Dirini Dirini is one of the Tribe (biology), tribes in the butterfly subfamily Satyrinae of the family Nymphalidae. Consisting of 29 species in 6 genera, the group's members are exclusively found in southern Africa. Initially distinguished by having a f ...

( Peña & Wahlberg 2008), appears to be related with '' Elymnias'' , as

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

to Amathusiini ( Wahlberg et al. 2009, Fig.5s) and within Zetherini ( Wahlberg et al. 2009, Fig.3s and Penz 2017). In any case, further studies are needed to clarify the phylogenetic position of this genus.

Classification

This species contains 3 to 5

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

. The lower classification shown here is according to , which recognizes 4 subspecies. ; ''Hyantis'' Hewitson, 1862 :* ''Hyantis hodeva'' Hewitson, 1862 ::* ''Hyantis hodeva hodeva'' Hewitson, 1862 ::* ''Hyantis hodeva helvola'' Stichel, 1905 ( syn. ''Hyantis hodeva hageni'' Röber, 1903) ::* ''Hyantis hodeva fulginosa'' Grose-Smith, 1898 (syn. ''Hyantis hodeva xanthophthalma'' Röber, 1903) ::* ''Hyantis hodeva emarginata'' Fruhstorfer, 1916

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * ** * ** **

External links

''Hyantis hodeva'' Hewitson 1862
at the Tree of Life web project
''Hyantis'' Hewitson, 1862
at Lepidoptera and some other life forms

/nowiki>] i
the Web Monograph about tribe Amathusini (in Japanese)
Amathusiini Monotypic butterfly genera Butterflies described in 1862 Taxa named by William Chapman Hewitson Nymphalidae genera {{Morphinae-stub