Charaxes legeri | |
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Charaxes legeri from N. Nigeria | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Genus: | Charaxes |
Species: | C. legeri
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Binomial name | |
Charaxes legeri |
Charaxes legeri, the St. Leger's charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Burkina Faso, northern Benin, northern Nigeria and southern Niger.[3] The habitat consists of woodland savanna at altitudes between 600 and 1,700 meters.
D’Abrera (1980) [4] and Henning (1989) [5] suggested that Charaxes legeri might be a hybrid between Charaxes epijasius and Charaxes castor Larsen (2005) [6] however, argues that Charaxes legeri is a distinct species.
Historical attempts to assemble a cluster of presumably related species into a "Charaxes jasius Group" have not been wholly convincing. More recent taxonomic revision,[7] corroborated by phylogenetic research, allow a more rational grouping congruent with cladistic relationships. Within a well-populated clade of 27 related species sharing a common ancestor approximately 16 mya during the Miocene,[8] 26 are now considered together as The jasius Group.[7] One of the two lineages forms a robust clade of seven species sharing a common ancestor approximately 2-3 mya, i.e. during the Pliocene,[8] and are considered as the jasius subgroup.[7]
The jasius Group (26 Species)
Clade 1: jasius subgroup (7 species):[7]
Clade 2: contains the well-populated three additional subgroups (19 species) of the jasius Group, called the brutus, pollux, and eudoxus subgroups.[7] Further exploration of the phylogenetic relationships amongst existing Charaxes taxa is required to improve clarity.
The larvae feed on Sorghum bicolor [= roxburghii ] and Annona species.