''Charaxes x fuscus'' is a naturally occurring hybrid between two

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

species of

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

in the family Nymphalidae. It was found in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

. The habitat consists of lowland evergreen forests. Described from a single male collected from Bangui by Plantrou, it is now proven to be the only known example of a naturally occurring hybrid (''

Charaxes numenes ''Charaxes numenes'', the lesser blue charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic o ...

'' x probably ''

Charaxes cynthia ''Charaxes cynthia'', the western red charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic ...

'')

Taxonomy

Charaxes tiridates ''Charaxes tiridates'', the common blue charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, the Repu ...

'' group. The supposed

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

members are: *''

'' *''

'' similar to next *''

Charaxes bipunctatus ''Charaxes bipunctatus'', the two-spot blue charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Repu ...

'' similar to last *'' Charaxes violetta'' *''Charaxes fuscus'' *'' Charaxes mixtus'' *''

Charaxes bubastis ''Charaxes mixtus'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. Description ''Ch. mixtus'' Rothsch. The ma ...

'' *''

Charaxes albimaculatus ''Charaxes numenes'', the lesser blue charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic o ...

'' *''

Charaxes barnsi ''Charaxes barnsi'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found on the island of Príncipe. The species was named by James John Joicey and George Talbot in 1927. ''Charaxes barnsi'' is a large butterfly with a brown ground colour and ...

'' *''

Charaxes bohemani ''Charaxes bohemani'', the large blue emperor, large blue charaxes or divebomber charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in eastern and southern Africa (Angola, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswa ...

'' *'' Charaxes schoutedeni'' *''

Charaxes monteiri ''Charaxes monteiri'' is a rare tropical butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, belonging to the Charaxinae subfamily or leafwing butterflies. It was described by Otto Staudinger in 1885. Description ''Charaxes monteiri'' presents an important sex ...

'' *''

Charaxes smaragdalis ''Charaxes smaragdalis'', the western blue charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from Senegal to Somalia, from Angola to Kenya and from Sudan to Egypt. The butterfly's wingspan is 85 to 100 mm. Adults are black wi ...

'' *'' Charaxes xiphares'' *''

Charaxes cithaeron ''Charaxes cithaeron'', the blue-spotted emperor or blue-spotted charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in south-east Africa.Charaxes nandina ''Charaxes nandina'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Kenya, in the central highlands east of the Rift Valley. Description ''Ch. nandina'' Rothsch. : forewing above black, behind the middle of the hindmargin with an oblon ...

'' *''

Charaxes imperialis ''Charaxes imperialis'', the imperial blue charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of the Congo ...

'' *''

Charaxes ameliae ''Charaxes ameliae'', the blue-spotted charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, ...

'' *''

Charaxes pythodoris ''Charaxes pythodoris'', the powder-blue charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Angola, the Democrati ...

'' *? ''

Charaxes overlaeti ''Charaxes overlaeti'' is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya. Taxonomy Known only from the holotype and a similar specimen captured in Kenya. ''Charaxes overlaeti'' may be a hybr ...

'' For a full list see Eric Vingerhoedt, 2013.

References

* Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren, 1972 Revisional notes on African ''Charaxes'' (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part VIII. ''Bulletin of the British Museum'' (Natural History) (Entomology)215-26

External links

''Charaxes fuscus'' images
at Consortium for the Barcode of Life Butterflies described in 1967 fuscus Endemic fauna of the Central African Republic Butterflies of Africa {{Charaxinae-stub