Compton tortoiseshell, N. vaualbum, Temagami, Ontario, Canada
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Nymphalidae
Tribe:
Nymphalini
Genus:
Nymphalis Kluk, 1780[1]
Species
Six, see text
Synonyms
Euvanessa Scudder, 1889
Roddia Korshunov,1995
Antiopana Korb, 2005
Nymphalis, commonly known as the tortoiseshells or anglewing butterflies, is a genus of brush-footed butterflies. The genera Aglais, Inachis, Polygonia and Kaniska, were sometimes included as subgenera of Nymphalis[2] but they may instead be treated as distinct genera.[3] See also anglewing butterflies. For other butterflies named tortoiseshells, see the genus Aglais.
The name Nymphalis, established by Jan Krzysztof Kluk in 1780,[4] is the oldest name among the generic names for a relatively small group of butterflies collectively known as anglewing butterflies. In zoological nomenclature, the oldest name has a priority over other names. The collective name anglewing butterflies is derived from a Latinised term Papiliones angulati. This name was probably used for the first time by Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775–1776. The anglewing butterflies as a group are characterized by a cryptic silhouette and by the colouration and pattern on the ventral side of both wings. This signature mark is an important taxonomic characteristic as well as a significant evolutionary adaptation.
During winter months, in latitudes with snow cover, all members of this group hibernate as adult butterflies.[5] During hibernation, hidden in various shelters, the butterflies are dormant. The camouflage provided by crypsis is advantageous to hibernating butterflies. Potential predators will have difficulties in seeing the dormant butterflies. With their wings closed, exposing only the ventral cryptically coloured underside, they blend in with their surroundings.
Today, the anglewing butterflies are found only in the northern hemisphere. Carl Linnaeus described the first members of this group in 1758, and it has since become clear that anglewing butterflies evolved from a common ancestor. The most recent studies include Nylin et al., 2001; Wahlberg & Nylin, 2003; Wahlberg et al. 2011, 2009, 2005. The sister group of Nymphalis is Vanessa.
^Nymphalis, ITIS Report
^"Nymphalis Kluk, 1780" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
^Nymphalis Kluk, [1780]. – Hist. nat. pocz. gospod. 4: 86. – TS: Papilio polychloros Linnaeus, 1758 Systema Naturae (Edn. 10) 1: 477. Subsequently designated by Hemming (1933), The Entomologist 66: 223.
^Scott, J. A. (1999). Hibernal diapause of North American Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea. Archived 2018-10-08 at the Wayback Machine Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 18(3):171-200.
Nymphalis antiopa, known as the mourning cloak in North America and the Camberwell beauty in Britain, is a large butterfly native to Eurasia and North...
Nymphalis xanthomelas, the scarce tortoiseshell, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in eastern Europe and Asia. This butterfly is also referred...
Nymphalidae. An assertion that the name Nymphalis l-album is in fact the correct name over the widely used Nymphalis vaualbum proved to have backing when...
subspecies or a distinct species is yet to be determined. Nymphalis xanthomelas and Nymphalis l-album are also similar in appearance. Once among the most...
tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Subspecies include: Nymphalis polychloros polychloros Nymphalis polychloros...
Satarupa nymphalis is a small butterfly found in the East Palearctic (SouthChina, Korea, Ussuri) that belongs to the skippers family. S. nymphalis Spr. (84...
in diurnal Lepidoptera. Rafinesque did not include Nymphalis among the listed genera, but Nymphalis was unequivocally implied in the formation of the name...
butterflies. The related genus Nymphalis also includes some anglewing species; Polygonia is sometimes classified as a subgenus of Nymphalis. Many members of Polygonia...
Euphaedra perseis, the Perseis mimic forester, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea (Conakry), Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory...
Hamadryas laodamia, the starry night cracker or starry cracker, is a species of cracker butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It can be found from Mexico...
Tortoiseshell". Archived from the original on 2008-10-18. Retrieved 2008-11-18. "Nymphalis". Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-18...
Pseudacraea hostilia, the western incipient false acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and...
sometimes indicated as a subgenus of Nymphalis or simply being an unnecessary division from the genus Nymphalis, which also includes tortoiseshells, but...
but DNA analysis concluded it deserves species status. Savela, Markku. "Nymphalis Kluk, 1780". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved August 23...
Hypolimnas salmacis, the blue diadem, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin,...
Consul fabius, the tiger leafwing, is the most common and well known species of the genus Consul of subfamily Charaxinae in the brush-footed butterfly...
Charaxes eupale, the common green charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast...
Catonephele acontius, the Acontius firewing, is a nymphalid butterfly species found in South America. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1771 (who...
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