''Polyommatus'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
butterflies
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
in the family
Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae is the second-largest family (biology), 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 ...
.
Its
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), ...
are found in the
Palearctic realm
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The ...
.
Taxonomy
Recent molecular studies have demonstrated that ''
Cyaniris
''Cyaniris'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae.
Recent molecular studies have determined that ''Cyaniris'' is a different genus from ''Polyommatus
''Polyommatus'' is a genus of butterfly, butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. ...
'', ''
Lysandra
Lysandra (Greek: Λυσάνδρα, meaning "Liberator, Emancipator"; lived 281 BC) was a Queen of Macedonia, daughter of Ptolemy I Soter to Eurydice or Berenice.
She was married first to her maternal cousin Alexander, one of the sons of Cassan ...
'', and ''
Neolysandra'' are different genera from ''Polyommatus'', where they had been included, sometimes as subgenera.
Some authors still recognize other subgenera, such as ''Agrodiaetus'', ''Bryna'', ''Meleageria'', and ''Plebicula''.
List of species
References
* (2012): Establishing criteria for higher-level classification using molecular data: the systematics of ''Polyommatus'' blue butterflies (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae). ''
Cladistics
Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to Taxonomy (biology), biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesiz ...
''. 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2012.00421.x
* (2010): "How common are dot-like distributions? Taxonomical oversplitting in western European ''Agrodiaetus'' (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) revealed by chromosomal and molecular markers. ''
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
The ''Biological Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a direct descendant of the oldest biological journal in the world, the '' Transactions of the Linnean Society''. It succeeded the earlier title in 1969. The journal specializes in evolution, an ...
'' 101:130-154 (2010)
abstract
Further reading
*French Wikipedia has more information about this genus at
:fr: Polyommatus
External links
Images representing ''Polyommatus'' 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=Q1084480
Lycaenidae genera
Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille