''Charaxes cacuthis'' is a
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...
in the family
Nymphalidae
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 a re ...
. It is found on
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
.
[Afrotropical Butterflies: File H - Charaxinae - Tribe Charaxini]
/ref> The habitat consists of lowland and coastal forests.
Charaxes cacuthis up290209.jpg , recto
Charaxes cacuthis down290209.jpg , verso
Description
A full description is given by Walter Rothschild
Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was present ...
and Karl Jordan (1900). ''Novitates Zoologicae'' volume 7:287-524
page 457-458 as subspecies of '' Charaxes etesipe'' (for terms see ''Novitates Zoologicae'' volume 5:545-60
Seitz- Very similar to '' Charaxes etesipe'' In the male, however, the blue transverse band
is continuous and about 8 mm. in breadth, not narrowed anteriorly; the blue spots in cellules la and lb on the forewingare about 6 mm. in breadth and joined together into a band. The female is distinguished by having the broad median band of the upper surface white on the hindwing and to
vein 2 or 3 of the forewing, thence orange-yellow to the costal margin of the forewing. Madagascar.
The tails of both sexes are longer than those of any other members of the etesipe group.
Life history
The larvae feed on ''Annona senegalensis
''Annona senegalensis'', commonly known as African custard-apple, wild custard apple, wild soursop, ( Mandinka language), and ( Wolof language) is a species of flowering plant in the custard apple family, Annonaceae. The specific epithet, ''s ...
''.
Realm
Afrotropical realm
Classification
Closely related to '' Charaxes penricei'' and '' Charaxes etesipe'' [Kielland, J. 1990 ''Butterflies of Tanzania''. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363]
''Charaxes cacuthis '' is a member of the species group
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
''Charaxes etesipe''.
The clade members are:
*'' Charaxes etesipe'' nominate
*'' Charaxes penricei''
*'' Charaxes achaemenes''
*'' Charaxes paradoxa''
*''Charaxes cacuthis''
*'' Charaxes bwete''
*'' Charaxes cristalensis''
References
*Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren
Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren (1886 in Melbourne – 24 July 1976) was a zoologist and entomologist.
Van Someren was born in Australia. He attended George Watson's College and studied zoology at University of Edinburgh. He was also a dentis ...
(1966). Revisional notes on African ''Charaxes'' (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part III. ''Bulletin of the British Museum'' (Natural History) (Entomology)45-10
External links
''Charaxes cacuthis'' images
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 ...
African Butterfly Database
Range map via search
Butterflies described in 1863
cacuthis
Endemic fauna of Madagascar
Butterflies of Africa
Taxa named by William Chapman Hewitson
{{Charaxinae-stub