Danaus plexaure, ISSUE

Smith, David A. S., Lushai, Gugs & Allen, John A., 2005, A classification of Danaus butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) based upon data from morphology and DNA, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 144 (2), pp. 191-212 : 198

THE PLEXAURE ISSUE

Morphological characters 36, 46, 54 and 57 (Appendix 1A, B) distinguish eresimus + plexaure from all other Anosia species. Whether or not these characters are considered to be eresimus autapomorphies depends on one’s view of the status of plexaure . G. Lamas, in a personal comment ( Ackery & Vane-Wright, 1984), maintained that the little known plexaure is merely a vicariant subspecies of eresimus , which it replaces south of the River Amazon in South America. A & V-W ‘could not disagree’ with this opinion. Although we have no new data, it seems to us bizarre that plexaure , first named by Godart in 1819, should, in the absence any distinguishing character, have survived 185 years and several major taxonomic revisions with its ‘gestalt’ status unsullied. Part of the explanation may be that plexaure is virtually unknown outside museum walls; nevertheless, parsimony requires that plexaure be reduced in status to a subspecies of eresimus . mtDNA analysis of plexaure is needed to confirm this status.