5 Taxonomy & Systematics
Species descriptionDanaus chrysippus was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, making it one of the first species ever to have been scientifically described. | Single cite |
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| Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis. Synonymis, Locis. Tomus. Holmiæ |
The description in Latin roughly translates as: "wings entirely orange, black margins with white dots, back with black dots".
 Scan of original description in Systema Naturæ made available by the Biodiversity Heritage Library (CC).
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| Scientific & Common namesDanaus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758) was originally described by Carl Linnaeus under the genus Papilio Linnaeus 1758. Papilio was later broken up into smaller genera, and chrysippus was placed under the genus Anosia Hübner 1816. Eventually, Anosia was merged with Danaus Kluk 1802 when it was discovered that Anosia was a paraphyletic group. | Single cite |
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| Smith, D. A., Lushai, G., & Allen, J. A. (2005). A classification of Danaus butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) based upon data from morphology and DNA. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 144(2), 191-212. |
Danaus chrysippus is known colloquially as the plain tiger, African Queen or African Monarch. The name 'tiger' refers to its tiger-like colour scheme, while 'Queen' and 'Monarch' are common names of the similar-looking Danaus gilippus and Danaus plexippus respectively. The queen and monarch butterflies are found mainly in the Americas, as opposed to the plain tiger which is found throughout Africa (and Eurasia), which explains the 'African' part of its alternative monikers. EtymologyDanaus was a king of Libya in Greek mythology. Chrysippus was one of Danaus' nephews and also the husband of Chrysippe, one of Danaus’ 50 daughters. According to Greek myth, Chrysippe, along with her 49 sisters, were ordered by their father to kill their husbands. Many other members of the original genus Papilio were also named by Linnaeus after the murdered bridegrooms. |
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Danaus' daughters murdering their husbands. Illustration by Robinet Testard (CC). |
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Type specimenA lectotype has been chosen from the specimens that Linnaeus worked with when describing the species. | Single cite |
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| Honey, M. R., & Scoble, M. J. (2001). Linnaeus's butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 132(3), 277-399. |
This lectotype is stored at the Linnaean Society of London (LSL), and is available for viewing here.  Lectotype stored at LSL. Despite being nearly 300 years old, this specimen is extremely well-preserved!
ClassificationKingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae Genus: Danaus Kluk 1802 Species: Danaus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758) There are three recognised subspecies: Danaus chrysippus chrysippus, Danaus chrysippus alcippus (Cramer, 1777) and Danaus chrysippus orientis (Aurivillius, 1909). | Single cite |
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| Smith, D. A., Lushai, G., & Allen, J. A. (2005). A classification of Danaus butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) based upon data from morphology and DNA. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 144(2), 191-212. |
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Species, subspecies and forms The word "species" is almost certainly one that everyone has heard of, but what exactly is a species? The short (and disappointing) answer is there is no agreement on what a species is. Different scientists have different definitions for what a species is — these are known as species concepts. There are over 20 species concepts, but none of them can 1) apply to every lifeform and 2) provide clear enough boundaries between species, at the same time. In essence, there is no 'right' species concept as of yet. However, the species concept most commonly applied to sexually reproducing animals, like the plain tiger, is the Biological Species Concept (BSC). Very simply and intuitively, the BSC states that two groups of organisms are considered different species if they cannot interbreed naturally. Subspecies, then, are groups of organisms that can interbreed naturally, but usually differ in terms of their geographic range, physical appearance, and/or behaviour such as migration timings. Subspecies can be named formally, and in recent years, there usually are genetic bases for the designation of subspecies. On the other hand, forms are strictly informal terms, and are used rather loosely to refer to members of the same species that look different. More in-depth explanations and examples are available here and here. |
PhylogenyPhylogeny (or phylogenetics) is, put simply, the study of evolutionary relationships between organisms. A fairly recent phylogenetic study on the genus Danaus was carried out in 2005 and used nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, as well as physical characteristics, to infer the relationships between 11 Danaus species. | Single cite |
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| Smith, D. A., Lushai, G., & Allen, J. A. (2005). A classification of Danaus butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) based upon data from morphology and DNA. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 144(2), 191-212. |
The results of this study suggests that the closest evolutionary relative of D. chrysippus is D. dorippus, once thought to be a subspecies of D. chrysippus.
Strict consensus phylogenetic tree using Maximum Parsimony. | Single cite |
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| Smith, D. A., Lushai, G., & Allen, J. A. (2005). A classification of Danaus butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) based upon data from morphology and DNA. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 144(2), 191-212. |
(Bootstrap/Bremer support values are shown at each node. Significant branch lengths are provided in parentheses. )
A more recent study has however cast doubt on how well-resolved the phylogeny of the genus Danaus is. In 2016, a phylogenetic study that used a different gene (ATPα) from the 2005 study produced a phylogeny that conflicted older studies. The 2016 study suggests that the closest evolutionary relative of D. eresimus is D. plexippus/erippus, while the 2005 study suggests that the closest evolutionary relative is instead D. gilippus. According to the newer study, one possible reason for this inconsistency is that the ATPα underwent introgression. More of such inconsistencies could be present in the genus Danaus, so more research is required for us to be certain of the evolutionary relationships between Danaus species.  Phylogenetic tree for 5 Danaus species.
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| Aardema, M. L., & Andolfatto, P. (2016). Phylogenetic incongruence and the evolutionary origins of cardenolide‐resistant forms of Na+, K+‐ATPase in Danaus butterflies. Evolution, 70(8), 1913-1921. |
Bootstrap support values are shown in red. Branch lengths are shown in black.
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