Cyrestinae
The subfamily Cyrestinae was long placed within the Limenitidinae. Molecular work has shown that Cyrestinae deserves the rank of subfamily and that it is more related to Nymphalinae/Apaturinae/Biblidinae/Pseudergolinae than to Limenitidinae. Phylogenetic relationships of the genera appear to be clear, with Marpesia being sister to Cyrestis+Chersonesia, based on analyses in Wahlberg et al. (2005, 2009). Relationships of species within genera have not been studied using modern techniques, although Holloway (1973) used phenetic methods to build a phenetic tree for Cyrestis and Chersonesia. The subfamily comprises 46 species placed in 3 genera (according to the latest version of the Classification of Nymphalidae).
Illustrated guide to the species of Cyrestinae
Key publications for Cyrestinae systematics:
- Holloway, J. D. 1973: The affinities within four butterfly groups (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) in relation to general patterns of butterfly distribution in the Indo-Australian area. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 125: 125-176.
- Wahlberg, N., Brower, A. V. Z. & Nylin, S. 2005: Phylogenetic relationships and historical biogeography of tribes and genera in the subfamily Nymphalinae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 86:227-251. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2005.00531.x
- Wahlberg, N., Leneveu, J., Kodandaramaiah, U., Peña, C., Nylin, S., Freitas, A. V. L. & Brower, A. V. Z. 2009: Nymphalid butterflies diversify following near demise at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B Biological Sciences 276: 4295-4302. doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.1303