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Acraea Fabricius 1807

Andrew V. Z. Brower
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 Acraea sp., Tanzania
taxon links [up-->]Acraea epaea [up-->]Acraea zetes [up-->]Acraea neobule [up-->]Acraea pseudegina Monophyly UncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertain[down<--]Acraeini Interpreting the tree
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Containing group: Acraeini

Introduction

The large genus Acraea ranges from Africa to Australia. However, only five species occur outside of Africa and Madagascar. Many Acraea species serve as models for various Batesian mimics.

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Acraea caldarena larva from Mt. Mulanje, Malawi. © 2008 Bernaud Dominique

Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships

The cladogram and composition of species groups shown is based on the phylogenetic analysis of morphological characters by Pierre (1987). The tree produced by Silva-Brandão et al. (2008) is quite incongruent with this topology, but may not include sufficient samples of the very diverse African fauna to provide reliable resolution. Nevertheless, there is strong indication in the latter data set that Acraea is paraphyletic with respect to Actinote.

The taxa included in Bematistes appear as a monophyletic group nested inside Acraea in both Pierre's tree and the Silva-Brandão et al. analysis, and may warrant recognition as a distinct genus once the relationships among the remainder of the clade are clarified. The name Miyana applies to southeast Asian species (A. moluccana, A. violae and A. meyeri) that are also nested within a subgroup of African Acraea.

An alternative scheme of relationships apparently quite different from Pierre's is implied by the classification of Henning (1992-93).

Other Names for Acraea Fabricius 1807

References

Ackery PR, Smith CR, and Vane-Wright RI eds. 1995. Carcasson's African butterflies. Canberra: CSIRO.

Larsen, T. B. 1991 Butterflies of Kenya and their natual history. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Larsen, T. B. 2005 Butterflies of West Africa. Stenstrup, Denmark: Apollo Books.

Henning, G. A. 1992-1993 Phylogenetic notes on the African speceis of the subfamily Acraeinae. Parts 1 - 3. Metamorphosis, 3(3):100-104; 4(1):5-18; 4(2):53-68.

Parsons M. 1999. The butterflies of Papua New Guinea: their systematics and biology. Academic Press, San Diego.

Pierre, J. 1987 Systématique cladistique chez les Acraea (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae). Annls. Soc. Ent. Fr. (N. S.) 23, 11-27.

Silva-Brandao, K. L., Wahlberg, N., Francini, R. B., Azeredo-Espin, A. M. L., Brown, K. S. J., Paluch, M., Lees, D. C. & Freitas, A. V. L. 2008 Phylogenetic relationships of butterflies of the tribe Acraeini (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Heliconiinae) and the evolution of host plant use. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 46, 515-531.

Information on the Internet

Title Illustrations
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Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Acraea horta
Passifloraceae
Location South Africa
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By Andrew V. Z. Brower
Behavior ovipositing on Adenia fruticosa
Sex Female
Life Cycle Stage adult
View ventral
Source Butterfly laying eggs
Source Collection Flickr
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License - Version 2.0.
Copyright © 2006 Martin Heigan
Acraea sp., Tanzania
Scientific Name Acraea perenna
Location Gombe National Park, Tanzania
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By self
Behavior "puddling", i.e. drinking from wet soil
Sex Male
Life Cycle Stage Adult
View Dorsal
Copyright © 2005
Scientific Name Acraea issoria formosana
Location Taiwan
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Source growing up_3
Source Collection Flickr
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License - Version 2.0.
Copyright © 2005 leemt2
About This Page


Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Andrew V. Z. Brower at

Page: Tree of Life Acraea Fabricius 1807. Authored by Andrew V. Z. Brower. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Brower, Andrew V. Z. 2008. Acraea Fabricius 1807. Version 23 July 2008 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Acraea/70403/2008.07.23 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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