Cymothoe sangaris

Cymothoe sangaris
Dorsal side
Ventral side
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Cymothoe
Species:	C. sangaris
Binomial name
Cymothoe sangaris (Godart, 1824)
Synonyms
Nymphale sangaris Godart, 1824 Harma uselda Hewitson, 1869 Cymothoe sangaris ab. reuteri Strand, 1910 Cymothoe sangaris ab. pallida Schultze, 1920 Cymothoe sangaris f. pluviatilis Overlaet, 1945 Cymothoe sangaris reuteri f. extimata Overlaet, 1945 Cymothoe sangaris reuteri f. simplicior Overlaet, 1945 Cymothoe sangaris reuteri f. rubrior Overlaet, 1945 Cymothoe sangaris luluana f. orchymonti Overlaet, 1945

Cymothoe sangaris is a species of butterfly of the Nymphalidae family.^[1] It is found in Central Africa.

Some authors believe the species should be split into separate species. They base this on morphologic characteristics (mainly in the females) and DNA-research. The new species would be specialised in one food plant.^[2]

Currently, the following subspecies are recognised:

• Cymothoe sangaris sangaris (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo: Ubangi, Mongala, Uele, north Kivu, Tshopo, Tshuapa, Equateur, Kinshasa, Kwango, Kasai, Sankuru and Maniema)
• Cymothoe sangaris luluana Overlaet, 1945 (Democratic Republic of Congo: Lualaba and Lomami, Zambia)

The larvae feed on Rinorea species.

References

1. Markku Savela (February 2, 2008). "Cymothoe genus". funet.fi. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
2. Robin van Velzen, Freek T. Bakker & Joop J.A. van Loon (2007) DNA barcoding reveals hidden species diversity in Cymothoe (Nymphalidae), Proc. Neth. Entomol. Soci. Meet., vol. 18, pp. 95-103.