Jump to content

Thereus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thereus
Imago of type species T. lausus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Tribe: Eumaeini
Genus: Thereus
Hübner, [1819]
Type species
Papilio lausus
Cramer, [1779]
Diversity
Some 20 described species, but see text
Synonyms[1]
List
  • Molus Hübner, [1819]
  • Noreena K.Johnson[verification needed], MacPherson & Ingraham, 1986
  • Pedusa D'Abrera, 2001
  • Solanorum Johnson, 1992
  • Timokla Johnson[verification needed], Kruse & Kroenlein, 1997

Thereus is a genus of gossamer-winged butterflies (family Lycaenidae). Among these, it belongs to the tribe Eumaeini of the subfamily Theclinae. These small butterflies occur essentially all over the Neotropics.[1]

Taxonomy

[edit]

Though this genus was first proposed long ago, for much of the time Thereus was included in the "wastebin genus" Thecla. However, the two genera are not particularly close relatives among their subfamily. In recent times, it has been proposed to remove several species from Thereus to smaller or even monotypic genera. While this might be warranted in some cases, it is not followed here pending more thorough study.[1]

Species

[edit]

The following named species are placed in Thereus at present:[1]

In addition, a number of as yet undescribed butterflies are suspected to belong here too:[1]

  • Thereus sp. 'Amazonia'
  • Thereus sp. 'Bahia'
  • Thereus sp. 'Guatemala'
  • Thereus sp. 'Ecuador 1'
  • Thereus sp. 'Ecuador 2'
  • Thereus sp. 'Panama 1'
  • Thereus sp. 'Panama 2'
  • ?Thereus sp. 'Panama 3' (tentatively placed here)
  • Thereus sp. 'Peru'

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e See references in Savela (2011)

References

[edit]
  • Savela, Markku. "Thereus Hübner, [1819]". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved September 30, 2019.