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 use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

in the skipper butterfly

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Pyrginae Pyrginae, commonly known as spread-winged skippers, are a subfamily of the skipper butterfly family (biology), family (Hesperiidae). The subfamily was established by Hermann Burmeister in 1878. Their delimitation and internal systematics has chan ...

. Many

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, with few occurring out of

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

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

Pyrgini The Pyrgini are a tribe (biology), 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 h ...

, which at that time contained a massive number of

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

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

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

, 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 () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

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

Erynnini The Erynnini are a tribe in the skipper butterfly subfamily Pyrginae. They are a moderately diverse but quite plesiomorphic and inconspicuous group, and except for the Holarctic species of the type genus '' Erynnis'' occur only in the Neotropic ...

– are not as strikingly autapomorphic 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'' * ''

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 and ...

'' Hewitson, 1868 * ''

Doberes ''Doberes'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Hesperiidae. Species Recognised species in the genus ''Doberes'' include: * ''Doberes anticus'' (Plötz, 1884) References Natural History Museum Lepidoptera genus database
Pyrginae Hes ...

'' * '' Eantis'' – sicklewings * '' Atarnes'' * '' Charidia'' * '' Paramimus'' * '' Milanion'' * '' Haemactis'' * '' Gindanes'' * ''

Pythonides ''Pythonides'' is a genus of skippers. Species Recognised species include: * '' Pythonides amaryllis'' Staudinger, 1876 * '' Pythonides jovianus'' Stoll, 1782 * '' Pythonides lancea'' Hewitson, 1868 * '' Pythonides lerina'' Hewitson, 1868 Ref ...

'' * '' Quadrus'' * '' Ouleus'' * '' Livida'' * '' Zera'' * '' Eburuncus'' Grishin, 2012

Footnotes

References

* (2009):

Tree of Life Web Project The Tree of Life Web Project (ToL) 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 s ...

&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 Taxa described in 1878