Elymniini


The Elymniini, or true browns, are one of the large tribes of the browns subfamily in the brush-footed butterfly family. Sometimes, they are elevated to subfamily status as Elymniinae.

Systematics

They are commonly subdivided into four subtribes. The largest tribe is called Lethina, with Parargina usually treated as a junior synonym. But this is not correct as it seems: according to cladistic analysis of mtDNA COI and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 sequence data, the Parargina – i.e. the group around Pararge, including at least the very similar Lasiommata as well as Tatinga and it is the doubtfully distinct relative Chonala – form a distinct lineage after all, immediately basal to the distinctly apomorphic Mycalesina and the more plesiomorphic Lethina proper; the accurate circumscription of these subtribes remains yet undetermined. In any case, these three constitute the bulk of the tribe's diversity. The Elymniina and Zetherina, by contrast, quite certainly form a less diverse clade that diverged early on in the evolution of the tribe.

Selected genera

Subtribes are listed in the presumed phylogenetic sequence, from the most ancient to the most advanced; genera are listed alphabetically. Some species are also listed.
Subtribe Elymniina
Subtribe Zetherina
of the Lethina
 belongs in the revalidated Parargina
Subtribe Lethina
, belongs to the large-eyed Mycalesina
Subtribe Mycalesina
Several prehistoric genera have been described from fossils:
They are usually all assumed to belong to the Lethina; due to the non-monophyly of that group, all that can be said is that they are probably fairly basal members of the more diverse radiation. Fossils from near the time of such divergences often yield interesting insight into the patterns of evolution.

Footnotes