''Phengaris'' is a

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 ...

gossamer-winged butterflies Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfly ...

in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classifica ...

Polyommatinae Polyommatinae, the blues, are a diverse subfamily of gossamer-winged butterflies (family Lycaenidae). This subfamily was long used to assign taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more ...

. Commonly, these butterflies are called large blues, which if referring to a particular

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 appropriat ...

is '' P. arion'', a species resident in Europe and some parts of Asia. Maculinea arion Large Blue Underside SFrance 2009-07-18

''Phengaris'' is currently defined to include the genus ''Maculinea''. 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 specim ...

of the latter was the

Alcon blue ''Phengaris alcon'', the Alcon blue or Alcon large blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae and is found in Europe and across the Palearctic to Siberia and Mongolia. Description from Seitz ''L. alcon'' Schiff. (= areas Esp., ''euph ...

(''"M." alcon''). This species was found to be less closely related to most other supposed members of ''Maculinea'' than the traditional ''Phengaris'' species, and hence the two genera were merged to form a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gr ...

group. Alternatively, ''Maculinea'' could be restricted to the one or two species of "Alcon" blues, and the rest of it be separated as a new genus. But this would create two very small genera, which is generally avoided by modern

taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are give ...

s. As ''Phengaris'' is the older name, it thus replaces ''Maculinea''.Brower (2008) ''Maculinea'' was alternatively considered to be a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between ...

of '' Glaucopsyche''. But while ''Glaucopsyche'' and ''Phengaris'' (including ''Maculinea'') are certainly close relatives, they are unlikely to be that close. The most recently discovered species in the genus is '' P. xiushani'', first reported in 2010 and found in undisturbed forested mountains, unlike all the other members which live in

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

s over their entire range of distribution.

Species

The species, listed in the presumed

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups ...

sequence from the most ancestral to the most

apomorphic In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have ...

, are:See Brower (2008) and the references in Savela (2006, 2008) Basal group (''Maculinea

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

'') * '' Phengaris alcon'' – Alcon blue, Alcon large blue ** †''

Phengaris alcon arenaria The Dutch Alcon blue (''Phengaris alcon arenaria'') was a subspecies of the Alcon blue butterfly ('' Phengaris alcon''). There is not much known about this subspecies, but it has always been very rare. It was endemic to the Netherlands, where ...

'' – Dutch Alcon blue * '' Phengaris rebeli'' – mountain Alcon blue (may belong in ''P. alcon'') ''Phengaris sensu stricto'' * ''

Phengaris daitozana ''Phengaris'' is a genus of gossamer-winged butterflies in the subfamily Polyommatinae. Commonly, these butterflies are called large blues, which if referring to a particular species is '' P. arion'', a species resident in Europe and some part ...

'' (Wileman, 1908) * ''

Phengaris albida ''Phengaris albida'' is a species of butterfly of the family Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called ...

'' (Leech, 1893) * ''

Phengaris atroguttata ''Phengaris atroguttata'', the great spotted blue, Retrieved April 23, 2018. is a small butterfly found in India, Myanmar, and China that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. Taxonomy The butterfly was earlier known as ''Polyommatus a ...

'' – great spotted blue * ''

Phengaris xiushani ''Phengaris xiushani'' is a species of butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is only known from Yunnan in China. The forewing length is 21 mm for males. The female is similar, but slightly larger and the black margins of both wings are w ...

'' Wang & Settele, 2010 – Xiushan's large blue Other ''"Maculinea"'' * ''

Phengaris kurentzovi ''Phengaris'' is a genus of gossamer-winged butterflies in the subfamily Polyommatinae. Commonly, these butterflies are called large blues, which if referring to a particular species is '' P. arion'', a species resident in Europe and some part ...

'' (Sibatani, Saigusa & Hirowatari, 1994) ** ''Phengaris kurentzovi kurentzovi'' northern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

** ''Phengaris kurentzovi daurica'' Dubatolov, 1999 Transbaikalia * '' Phengaris nausithous'' – dusky large blue * '' Phengaris ogumae'' (Matsumura, 1910) (tentatively placed here) ** ''Phengaris ogumae ogumae''

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

** ''Phengaris ogumae doii'' (Matsumura, 1928)

Kuriles The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in th ...

* '' Phengaris teleius'' – scarce large blue * '' Phengaris cyanecula'' (Eversmann, 1848) ** ''Phengaris cyanecula cyanecula''

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

** ''Phengaris cyanecula obscurior'' (Staudinger, 1901)

Tian-Shan The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...

** ''Phengaris cyanecula taras'' (Fruhstorfer, 1915)

Alay Mountains The Alay or Alai Range ( ky, Алай тоо кыркасы; russian: Алайский хребет) is a mountain range that extends from the Tien Shan mountain range in Kyrgyzstan west into Tajikistan. It is part of the Pamir-Alay mountain syst ...

** ''Phengaris cyanecula ussuriensis'' (Sheljuzhko, 1928)

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrat ...

Ussuri The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the ...

* ''

Phengaris arion The large blue (''Phengaris arion'') is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The species was first defined in 1758 and first recorded in Britain in 1795. In 1979 the species became mostly extinct in Britain but has been successfully ...

'' – large blue * '' Phengaris ligurica'' (Wagner, 1904) (may belong in ''P. arion'') * '' Phengaris takamukui'' * '' Phengaris arionides'' – greater large blue ''

Incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...

'' * '' Phengaris xiaheana'' (Murayama, 1919)

Footnotes

References

* (2008): Tree of Life Web Project &ndash
''Phengaris''
Version of 2008-JAN-06. Retrieved 2009-OCT-04. * (2006): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms &ndash

Version of 2006-MAR-12. Retrieved 2009-OCT-04. * (2008): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms &ndash

Version of 2008-JUL-05. Retrieved 2009-OCT-04.

External links

Images representing ''Phengaris''
at

Consortium for the Barcode of Life The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) was an international initiative dedicated to supporting the development of DNA barcoding as a global standard for species identification. CBOL's Secretariat Office is hosted by the National Museum of ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q48406 Lycaenidae genera Taxa named by William Doherty