Euriphene is a butterfly genus in the subfamily Limenitidinae. The 70 or so member species are confined to the Afrotropical realm. They are found mainly in the Guinean Forests of West Africa and the Congolian forests.

Euriphene
Euriphene kahli
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Tribe: Adoliadini
Genus: Euriphene
Boisduval, 1847
Synonyms
  • Diestogyna Karsch, 1893
  • Radia Hecq, 1976
  • Doricleana Hecq, 1994
  • Euriphenaria Hecq, 1994

Description edit

Euriphene species resemble Bebearia. The upperside ground colour of the males of some species is grey overlain with a metallic steely-blue sheen (E. barombina, E. coerulea and E. veronica). In other species the ground colour is reddish brown (E. lysandra and E. gambiae). All the species have distinctive dark bars in the forewing cell and suffused dark markings on the rest of the wings. Many have an apical arc of small white spots.[1] The head is wide with long, erect palpi. The antennae are very long, with a gradually-formed, robust club. The thorax is robust and woolly. The wing characters are forewings moderately large; costa very much arched; apex rather acute; hind-margin nearly straight. Hindwings sub-oval; hindmargin entire, or not strongly scalloped. The abdomen is rather small.

Taxonomy edit

The type species of the genus is Aterica tadema Hewitson.

Species edit

Listed alphabetically within species groups:[2]

References edit

  1. ^ Bernard d'Abrera, 2004 Butterflies of the Afrotropical Region, Part 2: Nymphalidae, Libytheidae SBN 978-0-947352-45-5
  2. ^ "Euriphene Boisduval, 1847" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  • Jacques Hecq, 2002 Schmetterlinge der Erde, Butterflies of the World Part 15 Euriphene Edited by Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach Keltern. Goecke & Evers ; Canterbury : Hillside Books. ISBN 978-3-931374-89-1
  • Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 37 et seq. as Diestogyna

External links edit