Eunica

{{Short description|Genus of brush-footed butterflies}}

{{Automatic_taxobox

| image = Eunica mygdonia MHNT ventre.jpg

| image_caption = Male Eunica mygdonia (museum specimen)

| taxon = Eunica

| authority = Hübner, [1819]

| diversity = About 40 species

| diversity_link = #Species

| type_species = Papilio monima

| type_species_authority = Stoll, 1782

| synonyms =

  • Amycla Doubleday, 1849 (non Rafinesque, 1815: preoccupied)
  • Callianira Doubleday, 1847 (non Péron & Lesueur, 1810: preoccupied)
  • Eunice Geyer, 1832 (non Rafinesque, 1815: preoccupied)
  • Evonyme Hübner, 1819
  • Faunia Poey, 1847 (non Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830: preoccupied)
  • Libythina Felder, 1861

}}

Eunica is a genus of nymphalid butterflies found in the Neotropical realm.

These butterflies have some eye-like spots on the wings. According to one research, there is an evolutionary tendency for decreasing of the number of spots.Garzón-Orduña, I.J., Silva-Brandão, K.L., Willmott, K., Freitas, A.V.L., Wahlberg, N. and Brower, A.V.Z. (2024), Wing pattern diversity in Eunica butterflies (Nymphalidae: Biblidinae): phylogenetic analysis implies decoupled adaptive trends in dorsal sexual dimorphism and ventral eyespot evolution. Cladistics, 40: 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/cla.12556

Species

File:Concordia (Sandbar) purplewing (Eunica concordia).JPG

File:Pusilla purplewing (Eunica pusilla).JPG

File:Eunica chlororhoa.jpg

The genus contains the following species, listed alphabetically:[http://www.nymphalidae.net/Classification/Epicaliini.htm Epicaliini] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723231247/http://www.nymphalidae.net/Classification/Epicaliini.htm |date=2011-07-23 }}, Nymphalidae Study Group website[http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/biblidinae/eunica/ "Eunica Hübner, [1819]"] at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120510121354/http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/Amazon%20thumbs%20-%20Nymphalidae%201.htm Identification Guide - Nymphalidae 1]}}, Butterflies of Amazonia

References

{{Reflist}}

  • Jenkins, D. W. 1990. Neotropical Nymphalidae. VIII. Revision of Eunica. Bulletin of the Allyn Museum 131:1-175.
  • Lamas, G. (ed.) 2004. Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. (Checklist: Part 4A, Hesperioidea to Papilionoidea). Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, Florida.