Erebia

Erebia
Arran Brown (type species)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Subfamily:	Satyrinae
Tribe:	Satyrini
Subtribe:	Erebiina
Genus:	Erebia Dalman, 1816
Type species
Papilio ligea Linnaeus, 1758
Diversity
Around 100 species
Synonyms
Atercoloratus Bang-Haas, 1938 Epigea Hübner, [1819] Gorgo Hübner, [1819] Marica Hübner, [1819] Medusia Verity, 1953 Phorcis Hübner, [1819] Simplicia Verity, 1953 (non Guenée, 1854: preoccupied) Syngea Hübner, [1819] Triariia Verity, 1953 Truncaefalcia Verity, 1953

Erebia is a Holarctic genus of brush-footed butterflies, family Nymphalidae. Most of the about 90–100 species (see also below) are dark brown or black in color, with reddish brown to orange or more rarely yellowish wing blotches or bands. These usually bear black spots within, which sometimes have white center spots.

This genus has found it easy to adapt to arid and especially cold conditions. Most of its members are associated with high-altitude lands, forest clearings or high latitude and tundra. Erebia species are frequent in the Alps, Rocky Mountains, subarctic and even arctic regions, and the cooler parts of Central Asia. In fact, the North American term for these butterflies is "alpines". Eurasian species are collectively known as "ringlets" or "arguses". However, none of these terms is used exclusively for this genus.

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus Erebia was erected by Johan Wilhelm Dalman in 1816. As type species, the Arran Brown—described as Papilio ligea by Linnaeus in 1758—was chosen. This is a very complex genus with over 1300 taxa, but a massive proportion of these are junior synonyms. Some of the available names are listed by Vladimir Lukhtanov.^[1] A fully comprehensive taxonomic checklist (i.e., without discussing synonymy and relationships) was published in 2008.^[2]

Only three years after the genus' inception, the known species were reviewed by Jacob Hübner.^[3] He established no less than five new genera for a fraction of what would eventually be named as "species" of Erebia. But things hardly improved as more and more of the diversity of these butterflies came to note. In Europe, a large number of Erebia taxa was described from the Alps. In the 19th and early 20th century the Alps were a popular destination for butterfly collectors and specimens of Alpine butterflies were very profitable for dealers. The dealers, mostly German, not only sold specimens, but were entomologists, entomological book dealers, entomological authors and publishers. Examples are Fritz Rühl, Alexander Heyne, Otto Staudinger, Andreas and Otto Bang-Haas and, in Paris, Achille and Émile Deyrolle.

This, together with the then-popular, even obsessive study of variation by entomologists—examples are James William Tutt, George Wheeler, Felix Bryk and Brisbane Charles Somerville Warren—led to very many names being applied to what may be or much more likely may not be biological species or subspecies. A further problem is the use of the term "variety". Authors of that time used this for an individual variant, a group of individuals morphologically but not otherwise related, seasonal forms, temperature-related forms, or geographic races; it was later usually taken to mean the last subspecies though this is often suspected to have been premature.

Eventually, it became common to arrange supposed species and subspecies to "species groups" (not superspecies, but an informal phenetic arrangement) as pioneered by B.C.S. Warren,^[4] and attempt to resolve their true nature by and by. As molecular phylogenetic studies add to the available data, it is becoming clear that most "varieties" that have at least been commonly considered subspecies in the latter 20th century are indeed lineages distinct enough to warrant some formal degree of recognition. Another result of recent research is confirmation of the theory that this genus contains many glacial relict taxa, e.g., in the "brassy ringlet" group (E. tyndarus and similar species).^[5]

The number of currently recognized Erebia species is given variously around 90-100, as developments happen so fast that it is hard for authors to remain up to date regarding the newest changes.^[5]

Species list

As of early 2008, the following good species and some rather distinct subspecies are listed:^[6]

Erebia aethiopella (Hoffmannsegg, 1806) – False Mnestra Ringlet Erebia aethiops (Esper, 1777) – Scotch Argus Erebia ajanensis Ménétriés, 1857 Erebia alberganus (Prunner, 1798) – Almond Ringlet or Almond-eyed Ringlet Erebia alcmena Grum-Grshimailo, 1891 Erebia alini (Bang-Haas, 1937) (disputed) Erebia anyuica Kurenzov, 1966 – Scree Alpine Erebia arctica R.Poppius, 1906 Erebia atramentaria O.Bang-Haas, 1927 Erebia calcaria Lorkovic, 1949 – Lorkovic's Brassy Ringlet Erebia callias Edwards, 1871 Erebia (callias) altajana Staudinger, 1901 Erebia (callias) callias – Colorado Alpine Erebia (callias) sibirica Staudinger, 1881 Erebia (callias) simulata Warren, 1933 Erebia cassioides (Reiner & Hohenwarth, 1792) – Common Brassy Ringlet Erebia (cassioides) arvernensis Oberthür 1908 – Western Brassy Ringlet Erebia (cassioides) carmenta Fruhstorfer, 1907 – Western Brassy Ringlet Erebia (cassioides) macedonica Buresch, 1918 Erebia christi Rätzer, 1890 – Raetzer's Ringlet Erebia claudina (Borkhausen, 1789) – White Speck Ringlet Erebia cyclopius (Eversmann, 1844) Erebia dabanensis Erschoff, 1871 Erebia disa (Thunberg, 1791) – Arctic Ringlet or Disa Alpine Erebia discoidalis Kirby, 1837 – Red-disked Alpine Erebia dromulus Staudinger, 1901 Erebia edda Ménétriés, 1851 Erebia embla (Thunberg, 1791) – Lapland Ringlet Erebia epiphron (Knoch, 1783) – Mountain Ringlet or Small Mountain Ringlet Erebia epipsodea Butler, 1868 – Common Alpine Erebia epistgyne (Hübner, 1819) – Spring Ringlet Erebia erinnyn Warren, 1932 Erebia eriphyle (Freyer, 1836) – Eriphyle Ringlet Erebia eugenia Churkin, 2000 Erebia euryale (Esper, 1805) – Large Ringlet Erebia fasciata Butler, 1868 – Banded Alpine Erebia flavofasciata Heyne, 1895 – Yellow-banded Ringlet Erebia fletcheri Elwes, 1899 Erebia gorge (Esper, 1805) – Silky Ringlet Erebia gorgone – Gavarnie Ringlet Erebia graucasica Jachontov, 1909 Erebia haberhaueri Staudinger, 1881 Erebia hewitsoni Lederer, 1864 Erebia hispania Butler, 1868 – Spanish Brassy Ringlet Erebia inuitica Wyatt, 1966 (disputed) Erebia iranica Grum-Grshimailo, 1895 Erebia jeniseiensis Trybom, 1877 Erebia kalmuka Alphéraky, 1881 Erebia kefersteini (Eversmann, 1851) Erebia kindermanni Staudinger, 1881 Erebia kozhantshikovi Sheljuzhko, 1925 Erebia lafontainei (Troubridge & Philip, 1983) – Reddish Alpine Erebia lefebvrei (Boisduval, [1828]) – Lefèbvre's Ringlet Erebia ligea (Linnaeus, 1758) – Arran Brown Erebia mackinleyensis (Gunder, 1932) – Mt. McKinley Alpine Erebia magdalena Strecker, 1880 – Magdalena Alpine

Erebia mancinus Doubleday, [1849] – Taiga Alpine Erebia manto ([Schiffermüller], 1775) – Yellow-spotted Ringlet Erebia maurisius Lukhtanov & Lukhtanov, 1994 (might be Erebia brimo (Böber, 1809)) Erebia medusa (Fabricius, 1787) – Woodland Ringlet Erebia medusa polaris Staudinger, 1871 – Arctic Woodland Ringlet Erebia melampus (Fuessli, 1775) – Lesser Mountain Ringlet Erebia melancholica Herrich-Schäffer, [1846] Erebia melas (Herbst, 1796) – Black Ringlet Erebia meolans (Prunner, 1798) – Piedmont Ringlet Erebia meta Staudinger, 1886 Erebia mnestra (Hübner, [1803-1804]) – Mnestra's Ringlet Erebia montana (de Prunner, 1798) – Marbled Ringlet Erebia neoridas (Boisduval, [1828]) – Autumn Ringlet Erebia neriene (Böber, 1809) Erebia niphonica Janson, 1877 Erebia nivalis Lorkovic & Lesse, 1954 – de Lesse's Brassy Ringlet Erebia occulta Roos & Kimmich, 1983 – Eskimo Alpine Erebia ocnus (Eversmann, 1843) Erebia oeme (Hübner, [1803-1804]) – Bright-eyed Ringlet Erebia orientalis Elwes, 1900 Erebia ottomana Herrich-Schäffer, [1851] – Ottoman Brassy Ringlet Erebia (ottomana) benacensis Warren, 1933 Erebia palarica Chapman, 1905 – Chapman's Ringlet Erebia pandrose (Borkhausen, 1788) – Dewy Ringlet Erebia pawlowskii Ménétriés, 1859 – Yellow-dotted Alpine or Theano Alpine[7] Erebia pharte (Hübner, [1803-1804]) – Blind Ringlet Erebia pluto (de Prunner, 1798) – Sooty Ringlet Erebia progne Grum-Grshimailo, 1890 Erebia pronoe (Esper, 1780) – Water Ringlet Erebia radians Staudinger, 1886 Erebia rhodopensis Nicholl, 1900 Erebia rondoui Oberthür 1908 (previously in E. cassioides) Erebia rossii (Curtis, 1835) – Arctic Alpine or Ross's Alpine Erebia rurigena (disputed) Erebia sachaensis Dubatolov, 1992 Erebia scipio Boisduval, 1832 – Larche Ringlet Erebia serotina Descimon & de Lesse, 1953 – Descimon's Ringlet Erebia sibo (Alphéraky, 1881) Erebia sokolovi Lukhtanov, 1990 Erebia sthennyo Graslin, 1850 – False Dewy Ringlet Erebia stubbendorfii Ménétriés, 1846 Erebia stirius (Godart, [1824]) – Styrian Ringlet Erebia styx (Freyer, 1834) – Stygian Ringlet Erebia sudetica Staudinger, 1861 – Sudeten Ringlet Erebia theano (Tauscher, 1806) – Theano Alpine Erebia tianschanica Heyne, [1894] Erebia transcaucasica Warren, 1950 (previously in E. graucasica) Erebia triarius (de Prunner, 1798) – de Prunner's Rnglet Erebia troubridgei (Dubatolov, 1992) Erebia turanica Erschoff, [1877] Erebia tyndarus (Esper, 1781) – Swiss Brassy Ringlet Erebia usgentensis Heyne, [1894] Erebia vidleri Elwes, 1898 – Northwest Alpine or Vidler's Alpine Erebia wanga Bremer, 1864 Erebia youngi Holland, 1900 – Yukon Alpine or Four-dotted Alpine Erebia zapateri Oberthür, 1875 – Zapater's Ringlet

Gallery

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  First of the three Erebia plates in the 1915 Macrolepidoptera of the World, edited by Adalbert Seitz. This work was published near the height of taxonomic confusion about these butterflies.

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  Another Macrolepidoptera of the World plate, showing larger species

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  Third Macrolepidoptera of the World plate, of the 31 named taxa depicted, probably less than 10 are actual species

Erebia comparison

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  Erebia ligea

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  Erebia ligea

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  Erebia euryale

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  Erebia euryale

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  Erebia aethiops

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  Erebia aethiops

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  Erebia aethiops
  underside ♂

• 

  Erebia aethiops
  underside ♀

• 

  Erebia medusa ♂

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  Erebia medusa

• 

  Erebia medusa ♀

• 

  Erebia neoridas

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  Erebia meolans

• 

  Erebia meolans

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  Erebia alberganus

• 

  Erebia alberganus
  underside

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  Erebia oeme ♂

• 

  Erebia oeme ♀

• 

  Erebia oeme
  underside ♂

• 

  Erebia oeme
  underside ♀

• 

  Erebia pronoe

• 

  Erebia pronoe
  underside ♀

• 

  Erebia pluto

• 

  Erebia pluto
  underside

• 

  Erebia pandrose

• 

  Erebia pandrose
  underside

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  Erebia stirius

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  Erebia stirius
  underside

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  Erebia nivalis

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  Erebia nivalis
  underside

• 

  Erebia manto ♂

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  Erebia manto
  underside ♀

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  Erebia gorge

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  Erebia gorge f. triopes

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  Erebia gorge f. erynis

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  Erebia gorge
  underside

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  Erebia tyndarus

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  Erebia tyndarus
  underside

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  Erebia claudina

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  Erebia claudina
  underside

• 

  Erebia cassioides

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  Erebia cassioides
  underside ♀

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  Erebia pharte

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  Erebia pharte
  underside

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  Erebia melampus

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  Erebia sudetica

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  Erebia mnestra

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  Erebia mnestra
  underside

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  Erebia christi

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  Erebia eryphile

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  Erebia zapateri

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  Erebia episodea

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  Erebia flavofasciata

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  Erebia gorgone

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  Erebia disa

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  Erebia embla

See also

• Other Lepidoptera genera with excessive named taxa:
  • Agrias
  • Parnassius
  • Prepona
  • Morpho
• Species concept
• Species problem

Footnotes

1. ^ Lukhtanov [2008]
2. ^ Tennent (2008)
3. ^ Hübner [1819]
4. ^ Warren (1936)
5. ^ ^{a b} Albre et al. (2008)
6. ^ Brower (2006), Albre et al. (2008), and see Savela (2008) for more sources
7. ^ Jim P. Brock and K. Kaufman. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America, New York, NY:Houghton Mifflin, 2003.

References

• Albre, Jerome; Gers, Charles & Legal, Luc (2008): Molecular phylogeny of the Erebia tyndarus (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae) species group combining CoxII and ND5 mitochondrial genes: A case study of a recent radiation. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 47(1): 196–210. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.01.009 (HTML abstract)
• Brower, Andrew V.Z. (2006): Tree of Life Web Project - Erebia. Version of 2006-NOV-28. Retrieved 2008-AUG-11.
• Hübner, Jacob [1819]: [Several new genera for Erebia]. In: Verzeichniss bekannter Schmettlinge [sic] (Vol.4): 62-64.
• Lukhtanov, Vladimir [2008]: Palaearctic Butterfly Checklist - Nymphalidae: Satyrinae. Version of 2008-FEB-04. Retrieved 2008-AUG-11.
• Savela, Markku (2008): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms - Erebia. Version of 2008-MAR-15. Retrieved 2008-AUG-11.
• Tennent, W. John (2008): A checklist of the satyrine genus Erebia (Lepidoptera) (1758–2006). Zootaxa 1900: 1-109. PDF contents, abstract and first page text
• Warren, Brisbane Brisbane Charles Somerville (1936): Monograph of the genus Erebia. British Museum of Natural History, London.

External links

• Nearctica Images of some Nearctic species.
• Nearctic species
• European species
• Rusinsects Former U.S.S.R. Erebia photographs, accurate text.
• Kulfan pdf Erebia fauna of the Tatras
• Zipcode Zoo
• [1] Pdf from Nagy et al. Alpine Biodiversity in Europe (Arctic-Alpine Butterflies).
• Flickr images