Charaxes lucyae is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Tanzania.
Very close to Charaxes eudoxus but with more dentate wing margins and longer tails; there are also minor differences in the genitalia Kielland, J. 1990 Butterflies of Tanzania. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363.
The habitat consists of sub-montane and montane forests.
Subspecies Charaxes lucyae lucyae (north-eastern Tanzania) Charaxes lucyae gabriellae Turlin & Chovet, 1987Turlin, B., & Chovet, G. 1987. Etude d’un probleme taxonomique pose par des Charaxes africains du groupe eudoxus (Drury) (Lepidoptera Nymphalidae). Bulletin de la Société Scientifique Naturelle No. 54: 5-12. (north-eastern Tanzania) Charaxes lucyae mwanihanae Kielland, 1982Kielland, J. 1982 Three new races of Rhopalocera (Lepidoptera) from Tanzania. Lambillionea 81 (9-12): 86-90. (eastern Tanzania)
Related species Historical attempts to assemble a cluster of presumably related species into a "Charaxes jasius Group" have not been wholly convincing. More recent taxonomic revision, 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,"Out of Africa again: A phylogenetic hypothesis of the genus Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) based on five gene regions" . 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: jasius subgroup (7 species)
Clade 2: contains the well-populated three additional subgroups (19 species) of the jasius Group: called the brutus, pollux, and eudoxus subgroups.
the eudoxus subgroup (11 species): Charaxes eudoxus Charaxes lucyae Charaxes richelmanni Charaxes musakensis Charaxes biokensis[stat.rev.2005] Charaxes ducarmei Charaxes druceanus Charaxes tectonis Charaxes phraortes Charaxes andranodorus Charaxes andrefana[stat.rev.2025]
Further exploration of the phylogenetic relationships amongst existing Charaxes taxa is required to improve clarity.
References
van Someren, V.G.L., 1975 Revisional notes on African Charaxes, Palla and Euxanthe (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part X. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Entomology) 32 (3):65-136.
External links Charaxes lucyae lucyae images at Consortium for the Barcode of Life