Chrysoritis Butler (1897), 1898

Heath, Alan, 2023, Chrysoritis Butler (Papilionoidea: Lycaenidae: Aphnaeinae) - Part III: An integrative taxonomic revision, Metamorphosis 34 (1), pp. 11-28 : 12

Chrysoritis Butler (1897) ,

type species Zeritis oreas Trimen 1891 , by original designation.

Chrysoritis are commonly known as Opals and Coppers.

= Nais Swainson (1833) , type species Nais splendens Swainson , by monotypy; junior homonym of Nais Müller 1771 .

= Poecilmitis Butler, 1899e , type species Zeritis lycegenes Trimen 1874 , by original designation. Synonymised with Chrysoritis by Heath (1997: 17).

= Bowkeria Quickelberg 1972 , type species Zeritis phosphor Trimen 1864 , by monotypy. Synonymised with Chrysoritis by Heath 1997: 17.

= Oxychaeta Tite & Dickson, 1973 , type species Phasis dicksoni Gabriel 1947 , by original designation. Synonymised with Chrysoritis by Heath (1997: 17).

Recent analyses by Kawahara et al. (2023) suggest Chrysoritis diverged from its sister group 22.9 MYA (95% highest posterior density interval 21.9–25.0 MYA [D. J. Lohman, pers. comm.]). The genus comprises two major clades – the Eastern Lineage, with an ancestral distribution and origin in the east, and the Western Lineage in the west (QEA22, see also Terblanche & Hamburg 2003).

Eastern Lineage

Seven species: oreas , phosphor , dicksoni, chrysaor , aethon , aureus, lyncurium . All seven lack iridescence or structural colouring. The Eastern Lineage is found in the COI, EF, CAD and Total Dataset trees (98%, 95%, 84%, and 92% respectively); in the H3 tree, it is paraphyletic but this is most likely due to misplaced rooting in the analysis. All trees are shown in QEA22.