''Erysichton'' is a genus of

butterflies 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 t ...

in the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest 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 the known butterfly ...

. The species of this genus are found in the

Australasian realm The Australasian realm is a biogeographic realm that is coincident with, but not (by some definitions) the same as, the geographical region of Australasia. The realm includes Australia, the island of New Guinea (comprising Papua New Guinea an ...

Etymology

The genus is named after the mythological figure of

Erysichthon of Thessaly In Greek mythology, Erysichthon (; Ancient Greek: Ἐρυσίχθων ὁ Θεσσαλός means "earth-tearer"), also anglicised as Erisichthon, was a king of Thessaly. He was sometimes called Aethon. Family Erysichthon was the son of King T ...

Species

*''

Erysichton lineatus ''Erysichton lineatus'', the hairy line-blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is the sole species of the genus Erysichton. It was Species description, first described by Richard Paget Murray in 1874. It is found in New Guinea and alo ...

'' (Murray, 1874)

Former species

Two species of Erysichton were transferred to the new genus

Jameela ''Jameela'' is a genus of butterflies 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 ...

, leaving only the species ''Erysichton lineatus''. (Grund 2010) *''Erysichton albiplaga'' is now known as ''

Jameela albiplaga ''Jameela albiplaga'' is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean ...

'' (Tite, 1963) *''Erysichton palmyra'' is now known as ''

Jameela palmyra ''Jameela palmyra'', the marbled blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in along the coast of Australia (from Queensland to New South Wales), as well as in Indonesia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The wingspan i ...

'' (Felder, 1860)

References

* 1973: The higher classification of the Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera): a tentative arrangement. ''Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), entomology'', 28: 371-505
BHL
* , 1916. ''Nacaduba'' Artengruppe ''Erysichton''. ''Zool. Meded''. 2: 137. * 2010: New Australian butterfly genus Jameela gen. nov. (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae: Polyommatini) revealed by morphological, ecological and molecular data. ''Entomological Science'' 13 (1): 134-143. DOI: 10.1111/j.1479-8298.2010.00368.x. Abstract

* 1992
A generic classification of the tribe Polyommatini of the Oriental and Australian regions (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Polyommatinae).
''Bulletin of the University of Osaka Prefecture'' (B), 44(Suppl.) * , 1999. ''The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea'' Academic Press, * 1963: A synonymic list of the genus ''Nacaduba'' and allied genera (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae). ''Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), entomology'', 13(4): 67-116, plates 1,2. Polyommatini Lycaenidae genera {{Polyommatini-stub