Charaxes brutus

{{Entomology glossary hatnote}}

Its average wingspan is 60–75 mm in males and 75–90 mm in females.

Both wings above black or black-brown with a common white or whitish yellow discal band, which on the forewing is broken up into spots towards the costal margin. Marginal spots wanting; but

the hindwing has before the distal margin 2—4 small blue spots, 2 in cellule 1 c and one each in 2 and 3. The under surface has a continuous white discal band; the ground-colour of the basal part is red-brown with the black, white-edged markings peculiar to the genus, which stand out sharply; the marginal part is brown-yellow next to the discal band and then ornamented with large, triangular black spots, distally bordered with pale grey. The hindwing also at vein 3 with a distinct, but short tail. — brutus Cr. The discal band on the upper surface pure white, not or only indistinctly margined with blue, on the forewing also with a spot in cellule 7 and measuring 5 – 9 mm. in breadth in cellule 1 b. Sierra Leone to the Niger. — natalensis

Stgr. differs only in having the discal band distinctly margined with blue and the small marginal spots somewhat more distinct than in the type-form. East Africa from Natal to Kilimandjaro. — angustus Rothsch. has the discal band much narrower, only 2. 5–4 mm. in breadth in cellule 1 b of the forewing, and the marginal spots of the forewing very small or entirely suppressed. Old Calabar to Angola.Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.{{PD-notice}}

A full description is given by Rothschild, W. And Jordan, K., 1900 Novitates Zoologicae Volume 7:287-524. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3267025/#page/295/mode/1up] page 429 et seq. (for terms see Novitates Zoologicae Volume 5:545-601 [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/22556#page/9/mode/1up])

Life-sized colour plates and description of the larval and pupal stages of C. brutus and additional related species, illustrated by Dr. V. G. L. van Someren, are readily available.{{Cite journal|last1=van Someren|first1=V.G.L.|last2=Rogers|first2=Rev. K. St. A.|date=1928|title=The Butterflies of Uganda and Kenya (Part 7) Family Nymphalide - Charaxidi.|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/content/part/EANHS/Nos.%2031-32_111_1928_van_Someren.pdf|journal=Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society|volume=31-32|pages=111–113 & 149–153}} hosted by Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL)

The larvae feed on Grewia species, Entandrophagma delevoi, Trichilia dregeana, Blighia unifugata, Melai azedarach, Trichilia emetica, and Ekebergia capensis.[http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/charaxinae/charaxes/ "Charaxes Ochsenheimer, 1816"] at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms

The following subspecies are recognised:

• C. b. brutus (Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, western Nigeria)
• C. b. alcyone Stoneham, 1943Stoneham, H.F. 1943 New forms of lepidoptera of the sub-family Charaxidinae, from East Africa. Bulletin of the Stoneham Museum (46): 2 pp. (Kenya: east of Rift Valley, northern and eastern Tanzania)
• C. b. angustus Rothschild, 1900Rothschild, W., & Jordan, K. 1900. A monograph of Charaxes and the allied prionopterous genera. Novitates Zoologicae 7: [i-iv], 287-524. (Eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Congo, Northern Angola, Zaire, West Uganda)
• C. b. natalensis Staudinger, 1885Staudinger, O. 1885 in Staudinger, O. and Schatz, E. 1884-1888. Exotische Schmetterlinge 1: vi + 1-333. Bayern (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania)
• C. b. roberti Turlin, 1987Turlin, 1987; 20

Turlin, B. 1987. Descriptions de nouvelles sous-especes et d’une forme de Charaxes africains (Lepidoptera Nymphalidae). Bulletin de la Société Scientifique Naturelle No. 53: 19-25. (Pemba Island)

Historical attempts to assemble a cluster of presumably related species into a "Charaxes jasius Group" have not been wholly convincing. More recent taxonomic revision,{{Cite book|title=Butterflies of the World: Charaxes 1|last=Turlin|first=B.|publisher=Goecke & Evers|year=2005|isbn=3937783156|location=Keltern|pages=2–3|editor-last=Bauer & Frankenbach|volume=22}} corroborated by phylogenetic research, allow a more rational grouping congruent with cladistic relationships. Within a well-populated clade of 27 related species sharing a common ancestor approximately 16 mya during the Miocene, 26 are now considered together as The jasius Group. One of the two lineages within this clade forms a robust monophyletic group of seven species sharing a common ancestor approximately 2-3 mya, i.e. during the Pliocene,[http://www.nymphalidae.net/Aduse-Pokuetal2009.pdf/ "Out of Africa again: A phylogenetic hypothesis of the genus Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) based on five gene regions"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725181224/http://www.nymphalidae.net/Aduse-Pokuetal2009.pdf |date=2019-07-25 }}. Aduse-Poku, Vingerhoedt, Wahlberg. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (2009) 53;463–478 and are considered as the jasius subgroup. The second lineage leads to 19 other species within the Jasius group, which are split into three well-populated subgroups of closely related species.

The jasius Group (26 species).

Clade 1: the jasius subgroup.

Clade 2: contains the three well-populated additional subgroups (19 species) of the jasius Group, called the brutus, pollux, and eudoxus subgroups.

• the brutus subgroup (4 Species)
• Charaxes brutus
• Charaxes antiquus
• Charaxes junius
• Charaxes andara

Further exploration of the phylogenetic relationships amongst existing Charaxes taxa is required to improve clarity.

{{Reflist}}

• Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren (1970). Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part VI. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology 197-250.[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/19402#page/249/mode/1up]

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090917161902/http://en.butterflycorner.net/Charaxes-brutus-White-Barred-Charaxes.511.0.html Species info] Images from Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
• [http://www.barcodinglife.org/index.php/TaxBrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=6907 Charaxes brutus images] at Charaxes page Consortium for the Barcode of Life subspecies and forms
• [http://projects.bebif.be/enbi/albertinerift/butterfly/taxoninfo?id=324 Images of C. brutus angustus] Royal Museum for Central Africa (Albertine Rift Project)
• [http://projects.bebif.be/enbi/albertinerift/butterfly/taxoninfo?id=567 Images of C. brutus natalensis] (Albertine Rift Project)
• [http://www.abdb-africa.org/ African Butterfly Database] Range map via search

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brutus

Category:Butterflies described in 1779

Category:Taxa named by Pieter Cramer

Category:Butterflies of Africa