The Achlyodidini (sometimes – but apparently in errorWahlberg ''fide'' Savela (2008) – spelled Achylodidini) are a

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 confl ...

in the

skipper butterfly Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea; however, the most recent taxonomy ...

subfamily Pyrginae. Many

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

of them are notable for their (by skipper butterfly standards) gaudy colors and the unusually-shaped wings, which look as if the forewing tips have been squarely cut off. They are only found in the Americas, with few occurring out of

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

areas.Brower & Warren (2009) Formerly, when only four tribes of Pyrginae were recognized, they were included in the

Pyrgini The Pyrgini are a tribe in the skipper butterfly subfamily Pyrginae. Formerly, when only four tribes of Pyrginae were recognized, the Pyrgini contained the largest number of genera among these. But this overly wide delimitation has since turned ...

, which at that time contained a massive number of

genera 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 ...

. But the Pyrginae have since been reorganized to make them and their tribes

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 ...

, leading most modern authors to treat the Achlyodidini as distinct tribe. However, they are the tribe most closely related to the Pyrgini ''

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 ...

'', and the old circumscription of the Pyrgini was by and large just as correct from a

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 o ...

perspective. The other two tribes of the Pyrgini ''sensu lato'' – the

Carcharodini The Carcharodini are a tribe in the skipper butterfly subfamily Pyrginae. They are a very diverse but quite plesiomorphic and inconspicuous group distributed throughout the tropics.Brower (2009) Formerly, when only four tribes of Pyrginae were ...

and Erynnini – are not as strikingly

autapomorph In phylogenetics, an autapomorphy is a distinctive feature, known as a derived trait, that is unique to a given taxon. That is, it is found only in one taxon, but not found in any others or outgroup taxa, not even those most closely related to t ...

ic as the Achlyodidini, but they are more distant relatives of the Pyrgini ''sensu stricto'' than the present tribe. Thus, they cannot be included in the Pyrgini without also including the Achlyodidini, and consequently the four-way split of the Pyrgini is more informative than to lump half the known evolutionary diversity of Pyrginae into one huge tribe.

Genera

The genera are listed in the presumed phylogenetic sequence: * ''

Achlyodes ''Achlyodes'' is a genus of skippers. It is 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, in ...

'' * ''

Aethilla In Greek mythology, Aethilla or Aethylla (Ancient Greek: Αἴθιλλα or Αἴθυλλα) was Trojan princess as a daughter of King Laomedon and sister of Priam, Lampus, Hicetaon, Clytius, Hesione, Cilla, Astyoche, Proclia, Medesicaste ...

'' Hewitson, 1868 * ''

Doberes ''Doberes'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Hesperiidae Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a s ...

'' * '' Eantis'' – sicklewings * ''

Atarnes ''Atarnes'' is a genus of skippers in the family Hesperiidae. It is 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 s ...

'' * ''

Charidia ''Charidia'' is a genus of skippers in the family Hesperiidae Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a sep ...

'' * '' Paramimus'' * ''

Milanion ''Milanion'' is a genus of skipper butterflies Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separate superfam ...

'' * '' Haemactis'' * '' Gindanes'' * ''

Pythonides ''Pythonides'' is a genus of skippers. Species *''Pythonides lancea ''Pythonides lancea'' is a species of butterfly in the skipper family, found in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portugu ...

'' * '' Quadrus'' * '' Ouleus'' * '' Livida'' * ''

Zera ''Zera'' is a genus of skippers in the family Hesperiidae Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separat ...

Footnotes

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
Achlyodidini
Version of 2009-JUN-14. Retrieved 2009-DEC-26. * (2008): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms &ndash

Version of 2008-JUN-17. Retrieved 2008-JAN-24. {{Taxonbar, from=Q518673 * Taxa named by Hermann Burmeister Butterfly tribes