Melanargia
Encyclopedia
Melanargia is a genus of butterflies of the subfamily Satyrinae
Satyrinae
Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the Browns, is a subfamily of the Nymphalidae . They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known diversity of brush-footed butterflies...

 tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...

 Satyrini
Satyrini
The Satyrini are a huge tribe of the Satyrinae, containing the graylings, ringlets and allies. They belong to the Nymphalidae family...

 subtribe Melanargiina belonging to the family Nymphalidae
Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called...

.

This genus, described by Johann Wilhelm Meigen
Johann Wilhelm Meigen
Johann Wilhelm Meigen was a German entomologist famous for his pioneering work on Diptera.-Early years:Meigen was born in Solingen, the fifth of eight children of Johann Clemens Meigen and Sibylla Margaretha Bick. His parents, though not poor, were not wealthy either. The ran a small shop in...

 in 1828, is the only genus in the subtribe Melanargiina, Wheeler, 1903. Once the genus Melanargia was classified as belonging to Satyridae.

The adults of this genus of satyrines are easily distinguished by their white wings with black veins and markings (hence the common name ‘Marbled Whites’). A peculiar phenotypic distinctiveness is also a dilated vein 12 at the base of the forewing.

Butterflies of genus Melanargia are widespread from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and north Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

List of Species and Subspecies

The investigations on genetic divergence and phylogenetic relationships among Melanargia species have recognized three subgenera (Melanargia, Argeformia, and Halimede) and reclassified the genus in 20 Species and relevant Subspecies as follows

Subgenus Melanargia, Meigen, 1829
  • Melanargia galathea (Linnaeus, 1758) - Marbled White
    • Melanargia galathea ssp. galathea (Linnaeus, 1758) – in Europe
    • Melanargia galathea ssp. satnia Fruhstorfer, 1917- Caucasus
      Caucasus
      The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

      .
    • Melanargia galathea ssp. magdalenae Reichl, 1975
    • 'Melanargia galathea ssp. syracusana Zeller, 1847
  • Melanargia lucasi (Rambur, 1858) - northern Africa
    Africa
    Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

    .
    • Melanargia lucasi ssp. lucasi (Rambur, 1858)
    • Melanargia lucasi ssp. meadwaldoi Rothschild, 1917 stat. rev.
  • Melanargia lachesis
    Melanargia lachesis
    The Iberian Marbled White is a butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. It can be found on the Iberian Peninsula and the south of France....

    (H¨ubner, 1790) - Iberian Marbled White
  • Melanargia evartianae Wagener, 1976 – northern of Iran
    Iran
    Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

    .
    • Melanargia evartianae ssp. evartianae Wagener, 1976
    • Melanargia evartianae ssp. sadjadii Carbonell & Naderi, 2006 stat. nov.
  • Melanargia teneates (Ménétriés, 1832); northern Iran
    Iran
    Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

    .
    • Melanargia teneates ssp. teneates (Ménétriés, 1832)
    • Melanargia teneates ssp. meda (Grum-Grshimailo, 1895)
  • Melanargia larissa (Geyer, 1828) - Balkan Marbled White
    • Melanargia larissa ssp. larissa (Geyer, 1828)
    • Melanargia larissa ssp. hylata (Ménétriés, 1832) stat. nov. – in Turkey
      Turkey
      Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

       and Iran
      Iran
      Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

      .
    • Melanargia larissa ssp. grumi Standfuss, 1892 stat. nov.
    • Melanargia larissa ssp. lorestanensis Carbonell & Naderi, 2007 stat. nov.
    • Melanargia larissa ssp. iranica Seitz, 1907 stat. nov.
    • Melanargia larissa ssp. taurica (Rober, 1896)
    • Melanargia larissa ssp. massageta Staudinger, 1901
    • Melanargia larissa ssp. karabagi Koc¸ak, 1976 stat. rev.
    • Melanargia larissa ssp. kocaki Wagener, 1983 stat. nov.
    • Melanargia larissa ssp. syriaca (Oberth¨ur, 1894) stat. nov.
    • Melanargia larissa ssp. titea (Klug, 1832) stat. nov. (= titania Calberla, 1891 syn. nov., = standfussi Wagener, 1983 syn. nov.)
  • Melanargia wiskotii Rober, 1896 stat. nov.
  • Melanargia russiae
    Melanargia russiae
    Esper's Marbled White is a butterfly in thefamily Nymphalidae. It is found in Spain, Portugal, south-eastern France, Italy, the Balkans, southern Russia, the Caucasus and western Siberia....

    (Esper, 1783) - Esper's Marbled White - in southern Europe to central Asia
    • Melanargia russiae ssp. russiae (Esper, 1793)
    • Melanargia russiae ssp. cleanthe (Boisduval, 1833)
    • Melanargia russiae ssp. japygia (Cyrillo, 1787)
  • Melanargia transcaspica (Staudinger, 1901) stat. nov.
    • Melanargia transcaspica ssp. transcaspica (Staudinger, 1901) stat. nov.
    • Melanargia transcaspica ssp. eberti Wagener, 1975 stat. nov.
  • Melanargia parce Staudinger, 1882
  • Melanargia lucida (Staudinger, 1886) stat. Nov.

Subgenus Argeformia Verity, 1953
  • Melanargia occitanica
    Melanargia occitanica
    The Western Marbled White is a butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. It can be found in North Africa and South Western Europe....

    (Esper, 1793) - Western Marbled White - in the southwest of Europe, northern Africa and Sicily
    Sicily
    Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

    .
    • Melanargia occitanica ssp. occitanica (Esper, 1793)
    • Melanargia occitanica ssp. pelagia (Oberthur, 1911)
    • Melanargia occitanica ssp. pherusa (Boisduval, 1832)
  • Melanargia ines
    Melanargia ines
    The Spanish Marbled White is a butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. It can be found on the Iberian Peninsula and western North Africa....

    (Hoffmannsegg, 1804) - Spanish Marbled White - in Portugal
    Portugal
    Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

    , Spain
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

    , Morocco
    Morocco
    Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

    , Algeria
    Algeria
    Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

    , Tunisia
    Tunisia
    Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

     and Libya
    Libya
    Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

    .
    • Melanargia ines ssp. ines (Hoffmannsegg, 1804)
    • Melanargia ines ssp. fathme Wagner, 1913 stat. rev.
    • Melanargia ines ssp. jahandiezi Oberth¨ur, 1922 stat. rev.
  • Melanargia arge
    Melanargia arge
    The Italian Marbled White, Melanargia arge, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.It is an endemic species found only in the southern half of Italy and the Eastern half of theItalian island of Sicily....

    (Sulzer, 1776) - Italian Marbled White - in Italy

Subgenus Halimede (Oberth¨ur & Houlbert, 1922)
  • Melanargia leda Leech, 1891 - Tibet
    Tibet
    Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

     and western China
    China
    Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

    .
    • Melanargia leda ssp. leda (Leech, 1891) (=yunnana Oberth¨ur, 1891 syn. nov.)
    • Melanargia leda ssp. melli Wagener, 1961
  • Melanargia halimede (Ménétriés, 1858) – in eastern Mongolia
    Mongolia
    Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

    , north-east of China
    China
    Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

     and Korea
    Korea
    Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

    .
    • Melanargia halimede ssp. halimede (Ménétriés, 1858) (=gratiani Wagener, 1961 syn. nov.)
    • Melanargia halimede ssp. coreana Okamoto, 1926*
  • Melanargia meridionalis Felder, 1862 – central and western China
    China
    Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

    .
    • Melanargia meridionalis ssp. meridionalis (C. & R. Felder, 1862)

b. Melanargia meridionalis ssp. tapaishanensis Wagener, 1961 stat. rev.
  • Melanargia lugens Honrath, 1888 – central China
    China
    Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

    .
    • Melanargia lugens ssp. lugens (Honrath, 1888) (= ahyoui Wagener, 1961 syn. nov.)
    • Melanargia lugens ssp. hengshanensis Wagener, 1961 (= hoenei Wagener, 1961 syn. nov.)
    • Melanargia lugens ssp. montana (Leech, 1890) stat. nov.
  • Melanargia epimede Staudinger, 1892 – in eastern Mongolia
    Mongolia
    Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

    , north-east of China
    China
    Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

     and Korea
    Korea
    Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

    • Melanargia epimede ssp. epimede (Staudinger, 1887)
    • Melanargia epimede ssp. pseudolugens (Staudinger, 1887)
    • Melanargia epimede ssp. ganymedes Heyne, 1895 stat. nov. - Tibet
      Tibet
      Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

      .
  • Melanargia asiatica (Oberthür & Houlbert, 1922) (= dejeani Wagener, 1961 syn. nov., = elisa Wagener, 1961 syn. nov., = sigberti Bozano, 2004 syn. Nov.) - in China
    China
    Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

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