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Polyura is a subgenus of butterflies also referred to as Nawab butterflies[1][2] and belonging to the brush-footed butterfly subfamily Charaxinae, or leafwing butterflies. Like the large and conspicuous forest queens (subgenus Euxanthe), they belong to the genus Charaxes, unique genus of the tribe Charaxini.[3][4]
- for the monotypic genus of plants, see Polyura geminata
| Polyura | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Polyura schreiber | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Charaxes |
| Subgenus: | Polyura Billberg, 1820 |
| Species | |
|
Many, see text | |
Polyura butterflies are native to the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. They are widespread from Pakistan to Okinawa Island, and from China to Pacific Islands (Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu).
- The subgenus Polyura was described by the Swedish naturalist Gustaf Johan Billberg in 1820.[1]
- The type species is Polyura pyrrhus (Linnaeus).
The subgenus was revised in 1982 by Robert Leslie Smiles based on morphological characters.[2]
The genus Polyura was synonymized with the genus Charaxes in 2009 in a study investigating phylogenetic relationships among Charaxini using DNA sequencing.[3] However the genus Charaxes comprises many morphologically very different groups such as the subgenera Euxanthe and Polyura. A phylogenomic study is ongoing to resolve the phylogenetic placements of these different groups. The sister-group to Polyura seems to comprise the African species Charaxes paphianus and Charaxes pleione.[3][4] Southeast Asian species of the genus Charaxes do not seem to be closely related to species of the subgenus Polyura.[3]
A comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the subgenus as well as several taxonomic studies have allowed a complete revision of the group.[4][5][6] A follow-up study investigating the biogeographical history of the subgenus suggested an origin in the Miocene about 12 million years ago in mainland Asia. The Australasian region was colonized later through dispersal.
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The subgenus is divided in three morphological groups supported by molecular phylogenetics:[4][5][6]
P. athamas group:
- Charaxes agrarius (Swinhoe, 1887) – Anomalous nawab – southern India, Burma
- Charaxes alphius (Staudinger, 1886) – Staudinger's nawab – Sulawesi, Timor
- Charaxes arja (C. & R. Felder, [1867]) – Pallid nawab – north-eastern India, Sikkim, Assam, Burma, Thailand, Indochina
- Charaxes athamas (Drury, [1773]) – Common nawab
- Charaxes attalus (C. & R. Felder, 1867) - Java, Sumatra
- Charaxes bharata (Leech, 1891) – India
- Charaxes hebe (Butler, [1866]) – Plain nawab
- Charaxes jalysus (C. & R. Felder, [1867]) – Malaysia, Sunda Islands, Thailand
- Charaxes luzonicus (Rothschild, 1899) – Philippines
- Charaxes moori (Distant, 1883) – Malayan nawab – Malaysia, Sunda Islands
- Charaxes paulettae (Toussaint, 2015) – India, Pakistan, Thailand
- Charaxes schreiber (Godart, [1824]) – Blue nawab
P. eudamippus group:
- Charaxes delphis (Doubleday, 1843) – Jewelled nawab – Assam, Burma, Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo
- Charaxes dolon (Westwood, 1847) – Stately nawab – Tibet, China, Kulu, Assam, Burma
- Charaxes eudamippus (Doubleday, 1843) – Great nawab – central China, Kumaon, Assam, Burma
- Charaxes narcaeus (Hewitson, 1854) – China nawab – China, Naga Hills, Abor Valley, northern Burma
- Charaxes nepenthes (Grose-Smith, 1883) – – eastern China
- Charaxes posidonius (Leech, 1891) – Tibet, China
- Charaxes weismanni – (Fritze 1894) – Okinawa Island.Sometimes subspecies of Polyura eudamippus
P. pyrrhus group:
- Charaxes andrewsi (Butler, 1900) – Christmas emperor – Christmas Island
- Charaxes bicolor (Turlin & Sato, 1995) – Solomon Islands
- Charaxes caphontis (Hewitson, 1863) – Fiji
- Charaxes clitarchus (Hewitson, 1874) – New Caledonia
- Charaxes cognatus Vollenhoven, 1861 – Sulawesi blue nawab – Sulawesi
- Charaxes dehanii (Westwood, 1850) – Java, Sumatra
- Charaxes epigenes (Godman & Salvin, 1888) – Solomon Islands
- Charaxes gamma (Lathy, 1898) – New Caledonia
- Charaxes gilolensis (Butler, 1869) – Moluccas
- Charaxes inopinatus (Röber, 1939) – New Britain
- Charaxes jupiter (Butler, 1869) – New Guinea
- Charaxes pyrrhus (Linnaeus, 1758) – Tailed nawab, tailed emperor – Ambon, Ceram
- Charaxes sacco Smart, 1977 – Vanuatu
- Charaxes smilesi (Toussaint, 2015) – Ceram
- Charaxes sempronius (Fabricius, 1793) – Tailed emperor, four tail – Australia, Lesser Sunda Islands
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