Species Famegana nisa (Wallace, 1865)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Lycaena nisa Hsu Y.-F. 2020. The identity of Alfred Wallace’s mysterious butterfly taxon Lycaena nisa solved: Famegana nisa comb. nov., a senior synonym of F. alsulus (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Polyommatinae). ZooKeys 966: 153–162.

  Type data:

   Lectotype NHM-UK 720422 Female (Type data: "Female. Formosa", "L. nisa Wallace", "Moore Coll. 1908-203. Formosa", "Compare Otis Fab"), Taiwan.

  Subsequent designation references:

  Hsu Y.-F. 2020. The identity of Alfred Wallace’s mysterious butterfly taxon Lycaena nisa solved: Famegana nisa comb. nov., a senior synonym of F. alsulus (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Polyommatinae). ZooKeys 966: 153–162.

  Type locality references:

  Hsu Y.-F. 2020. The identity of Alfred Wallace’s mysterious butterfly taxon Lycaena nisa solved: Famegana nisa comb. nov., a senior synonym of F. alsulus (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Polyommatinae). ZooKeys 966: 153–162.
• Lycaena alsulus Herrich-Schäffer, G.A.W. 1869. Neue Schmetterlinge aus dem Museum Godeffroy in Hamburg. Stettiner Entomologische Zeitung 30(1–3): 66-80 pls 1-4 [75].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown sex unknown, Rockhampton, QLD and Upolu, Western Samoa (in original description)
  Comment: Herrich-Schäffer in the original description referred to several specimens; Parsons, M.J. 1998. The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea; their systematics and biology. San Diego : Academic Press 736 pp. [460] (referred to a syntype male from Rockhampton, QLD).
• Lycaena exilis Lucas, T.P. 1889. Six new species of Rhopalocera. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland vi(4): 155-161 [159] [junior homonym of Lycaena exilis Boisduval, 1852].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) SAMA ♂ ♀, Cooktown to Bowen (designated in original description)
  Comment: Lucas in the original description mentioned both sexes and gave several localities.
• Lycaena gracilis Miskin, W.H. 1890. Descriptions of hitherto undescribed Australian Lepidoptera (Rhopalocera) principally Lycaenidae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 2 5(1): 29-43 [publication date: Anon. 1929. List showing dates of publication of parts of the Proceedings for each year. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. Index to vols 1–50 (1875–1925)] [37].

  Type data:

   
  Syntype(s) QM T.12413 1♂, Rockhampton and Toowong, QLD (designated as Brisbane to Cooktown, QLD, in original description; Hancock, op. cit. gave localities on labels of syntypes); QM T.12414 1♀
  Comment: Miskin in the original description mentioned both sexes and several localities; Hancock, D.L. 1995. The butterfly types of W. H. Miskin in the Queensland Museum (Lepidoptera). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 38(2): 519–528 [524] (type information).
• Lycaena exiloides Lucas, T.P. 1891. Correction. Six new species of Rhopalocera. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 7(1): 47 [47] [replacement name for Lycaena exilis Lucas, 1889].

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Miskin, W.H. 1891. A synonymical catalogue of the Lepidoptera Rhopalocera (Butterflies) of Australia with full bibliographical reference: including descriptions of some new species. Annals of the Queensland Museum 1: [i]-xx 1-[93] [i]-ix [60]
• Waterhouse, G.A. 1903. Notes on Australian Rhopalocera: Lycaenidae. Part III—Revisional. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 28(1): 132-275, pls 1-3 [214]
• Edwards, E.D. 1996. Lycaenidae. pp. 249-254, 360-363 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [254]
• Hsu Y.-F. 2020. The identity of Alfred Wallace’s mysterious butterfly taxon Lycaena nisa solved: Famegana nisa comb. nov., a senior synonym of F. alsulus (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Polyommatinae). ZooKeys 966: 153–162

 

Taxonomic Decision for Subspecies Arrangement

• Common, I.F.B. & Waterhouse, D.F. 1972. Butterflies of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xii 498 pp. 41 pls. [411]

 

Introduction

Hsu (2020) located a syntype female in the BMNH of Lycaena nisa Wallace, 1866 described from Taiwan and showed that nisa is a senior synonym of Lycaena alsulus Herrich-Schäffer, 1869. The syntype was designated as a lectotype. Thus, the species formerly known in Australia as Famegana alsulus should now be known under the name Famegana nisa. Hsu (2020) recommended that subspecies ought not to be recognised throughout the wide range of the species due to the extent of seasonal variation.

 

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Extralimital distribution—Fiji, Indonesia (Irian Jaya), Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Oriental Region.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

NSW, NT, Qld, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Finke (FIN), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Northern Kimberley (NK), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Sturt Plateau (STU), Tanami (TAN), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Wet Tropics (WT)

Ecological Descriptors

Larva: herbivore (associated flora: Cajanus acutifolius (F.Muell. ex Benth.) Maesen [FABACEAE]; Cajanus pubescens (Ewart & Morrison) Maesen [FABACEAE]; Indigofera pratensis F.Muell. [FABACEAE]).

 

General References

Common, I.F.B. & Waterhouse, D.F. 1981. Butterflies of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xiv 682 pp. 49 pls. [460] (as Famegana nisa alsulus)

Hirowatari, T. 1992. A generic classification of the tribe Polyommatini of the Oriental and Australian regions (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Polyommatinae). Bulletin of the University of Osaka Prefecture B 44(Suppl.): 1-102 [56]

Hsu Y.-F. 2020. The identity of Alfred Wallace’s mysterious butterfly taxon Lycaena nisa solved: Famegana nisa comb. nov., a senior synonym of F. alsulus (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Polyommatinae). ZooKeys 966: 153–162

Parsons, M.J. 1998. The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea; their systematics and biology. San Diego : Academic Press 736 pp. [460]

Waterhouse, G.A. 1932. What Butterfly is That? A Guide to the Butterflies of Australia. Illustrated by Neville Cayley. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 291 pp. 34 pls. [Date published 15/Dec/1932] [164]

Waterhouse, G.A. & Lyell, G. 1914. The Butterflies of Australia: a monograph of the Australian Rhopalocera introducing a complete scheme of structural classification, and giving descriptions and illustrations of all the butterflies found in Australia, including a number now recorded for the first time. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 239 pp. 38 pls + 3 unnumbered colour pls. [Date published 25 July 1914] [106]

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
07-Mar-2024	PAPILIONOIDEA	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Michael Braby
04-Feb-2023	PAPILIONOIDEA	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Michael Braby (ANU)
13-May-2022	PAPILIONOIDEA	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Michael Braby
26-Feb-2021	PAPILIONOIDEA	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Michael Braby
04-Jun-2020	PAPILIONOIDEA	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Michael Braby
04-Jun-2020	LYCAENIDAE Leach, 1815	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED
06-Sep-2017	PAPILIONOIDEA	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED
06-Sep-2017	LYCAENIDAE	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Federica Turco (QM)
06-Sep-2017		20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED
05-Mar-2013		20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED
30-Mar-2012		20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED
28-Mar-2012		20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED
		20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED