Phengaris

Phengaris is a genus of gossamer-winged butterflies in the subfamily Polyommatinae. Commonly, these butterflies are called large blues, which if referring to a particular species is P. arion, a species resident in Europe and some parts of Asia.

Underside of the large blue (P. arion), formerly in Maculinea in Rabastens-de-Bigorre, Hautes-Pyrénées, France

Phengaris
The great spotted blue (P. atroguttata), one of the "traditional" Phengaris.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Polyommatinae
Tribe: Polyommatini
Genus: Phengaris
Doherty, 1891
Synonyms

Maculinea (van Eecke, 1915)

Phengaris is currently defined to include the genus Maculinea. The type species of the latter was the Alcon blue ("M." alcon). This species was found to be less closely related to most other supposed members of Maculinea than the traditional Phengaris species, and hence the two genera were merged to form a monophyletic group. Alternatively, Maculinea could be restricted to the one or two species of "Alcon" blues, and the rest of it be separated as a new genus. But this would create two very small genera, which is generally avoided by modern taxonomists. As Phengaris is the older name, it thus replaces Maculinea.[1]

Maculinea was alternatively considered to be a subgenus of Glaucopsyche. But while Glaucopsyche and Phengaris (including Maculinea) are certainly close relatives, they are unlikely to be that close.

The most recently discovered species in the genus is P. xiushani, first reported in 2010 and found in undisturbed forested mountains, unlike all the other members which live in grasslands over their entire range of distribution.[2]

Species

The species, listed in the presumed phylogenetic sequence from the most ancestral to the most apomorphic, are:[3]

Basal group (Maculinea sensu stricto)

Phengaris sensu stricto

Other "Maculinea"

  • Phengaris kurentzovi (Sibatani, Saigusa & Hirowatari, 1994)
    • Phengaris kurentzovi kurentzovi northern China and Korea
    • Phengaris kurentzovi daurica Dubatolov, 1999 Transbaikalia
  • Phengaris nausithous – dusky large blue
  • Phengaris ogumae (Matsumura, 1910) (tentatively placed here)
    • Phengaris ogumae ogumae Japan
    • Phengaris ogumae doii (Matsumura, 1928) Kuriles
  • Phengaris teleius – scarce large blue
  • Phengaris cyanecula (Eversmann, 1848)
  • Phengaris arion – large blue
  • Phengaris ligurica (Wagner, 1904) (may belong in P. arion)
  • Phengaris takamukui
  • Phengaris arionides – greater large blue

Incertae sedis

  • Phengaris xiaheana (Murayama, 1919)

Footnotes
  1. Brower (2008)
  2. "New Species of Large Blue Butterfly Discovered". Science Daily. 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  3. See Brower (2008) and the references in Savela (2006, 2008)

References
  • Brower, Andrew V.Z. (2008): Tree of Life Web Project – Phengaris. Version of 2008-JAN-06. Retrieved 2009-OCT-04.
  • Savela, Markku (2006): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms – Phengaris. Version of 2006-MAR-12. Retrieved 2009-OCT-04.
  • Savela, Markku (2008): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms – Maculinea. Version of 2008-JUL-05. Retrieved 2009-OCT-04.
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