''Euschemon'' is a genus of skipper

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 Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Hesperiidae Skippers are a group of butterflies placed in the family Hesperiidae within the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea, but have since been placed in the superfamily Papilion ...

. It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

, being represented by the single species ''Euschemon rafflesia'', commonly known as the regent skipper and is found in Australia.Brower & Warren (2009)

Taxonomy

It was formerly often included in the

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 ...

Tagiadini The Tagiadini are a tribe (biology), tribe of skipper butterfly, butterflies in the family Skipper (butterfly), Hesperiidae. Many of its genera were of uncertain relationships for long, and delimitation of the Tagiadini versus the Celaenorrhinin ...

of the

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 ...

of spread-winged skippers,

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 ...

. However, it seems to be the single most distinct living skipper butterfly. Consequently, it is treated as a

subfamily Euschemoninae, as was first proposed by

William Forsell Kirby William Forsell Kirby (14 January 1844 – 20 November 1912) was an English entomologist and folklorist. He specialized in the study of the stick insects, describing nearly 70 species and 22 genera. His collection filled 120 cabinets and clai ...

as early as 1897.

Synonyms

The regent skipper, in addition to the

systematic Systematic may refer to: Science * Short for systematic error * Systematic fault * Systematic bias, errors that are introduced by an inaccuracy inherent to the system Economy * Systematic trading, a way of defining trade goals, risk control ...

uncertainties that have surrounded it for long, is a rather variable

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), ...

. Consequently, it has been treated under a variety of names, which are nowadays considered

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

s. For example: * ''Euschemon alba'' Mabille,

903 __NOTOC__ Year 903 ( CMIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Berengar I of Italy proceeds to issue concessions and privileges to the Lombard nobility and monasteries. He gra ...

/small> * ''Euschemon alboornatus'' Olliff, 1891 * ''Euschemon viridis'' Waterhouse, 1932 * ''Exometoeca rafflesia'' (Macleay,

827 __FORCETOC__ Year 827 ( DCCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 14 – Euphemius, exiled Byzantine admiral, asks for the help of North African Arabs, to ret ...

* ''Hesperia rafflesia'' Macleay,

/small> William Sharp Macleay named the butterfly after Sir

Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British Colonial Office, colonial official who served as the List of governors of the Dutch East Indies, governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieut ...

"to whose scientific ardour and indefatigable exertions in Java and Sumatra, every naturalist must feel himself indebted."

Description

The regent skipper is quite small relative to most butterflies, however, it is large relative to most species in the family Hesperiidae. Its common name refers to the gaudy coloration; mostly black with conspicuous yellow and red dots and bands. A notable trait of this

butterfly 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 ...

are the males'

frenulum A frenulum or frenum (: frenula or frena, from the Latin ''frēnulum'', "little bridle", the diminutive of ''frēnum'') is a small fold of tissue that secures the motion of a mobile organ in the body. In human anatomy Frenula on the human ...

and

retinaculum A retinaculum (: retinacula) is a band of thickened deep fascia around tendons that holds them in place. It is not part of any muscle and primarily functions to stabilize tendons. The term retinaculum is Neo-Latin, derived from the Latin verb ''re ...

which couple the fore- and hindwing together in flight. This structure is presumably

plesiomorph In phylogenetics, a plesiomorphy ("near form") and symplesiomorphy are synonyms for an ancestral Phenotypic trait, character shared by all members of a clade, which does not distinguish the clade from other clades. Plesiomorphy, symplesiomorph ...

ic for most or all

Macrolepidoptera Macrolepidoptera is a group within the insect Order (biology), order Lepidoptera. Traditionally used for the larger butterflies and moths as opposed to the "microlepidoptera", this group is artificial. However, it seems that by moving some taxa ...

, but is absent in all known Rhopalocera (butterflies) except the regent skipper and the Hedylidae (

moth-butterflies Hedylidae, the "American moth-butterflies", is a Family (biology), family of insects in the order Lepidoptera, formerly representing the superfamily Hedyloidea. They have traditionally been viewed as an Extant taxon, extant sister group of the bu ...

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
Euschemoninae
Version of 2009-JUN-11. Retrieved 2009-DEC-24. * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1796936 Butterflies of Australia Hesperiidae Monotypic butterfly genera Hesperiidae genera