A note on Papilio aegyptius Schreber, 1759, and its synonymy with Danaus chrysippus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Danainae)

Abstract

In this paper, we seek to predicate the status of Papilio aegyptius Schreber, 1759, as a junior subjective synonym of Danaus chrysippus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758). As early as 1764, these taxa were synonymised by Linnaeus, but the name aegyptius was later revived by Hans Fruhstorfer in 'Seitz' to represent a 'race' of D. chrysippus found in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Egypt and also the Sudan. George Talbot subsequently used the name for one of seven subspecies of Danaus chrysippus he recognised. In the 1970s, work by Jacques Pierre persuaded other authors to regard ssp. aegyptius as the pan-Afrotropical subspecies, contrary to Talbot's view of ssp. aegyptius being limited to only part of Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. The 'Pierre classification' was quite widely followed for about 20 years. There are now two different, rival systems for African D. chrysippus : the 'Larsen classification', which includes all populations in a greatly expanded ssp. chrysippus, and the 'Smith classification', which divides African D. chrysippus into four named semispecies together with a large 'hybrid zone'. Both classifications agree, however, in placing both Egyptian and Eastern Mediterranean populations in the nominotypical taxon. In 'Butterflies of Turkey', Gerhard Hesselbarth, Harry van Oorschot & Sigbert Wagener placed Papilio aegyptius as a junior subjective synonym of Danaus chrysippus chrysippus, an action since independently supported by David Smith and his co-workers. A brief account of events leading to the return to synonymy of D. chrysippus aegyptius under the nominotypical subspecies is presented. In this history, differing interpretations of the type locality of Danaus chrysippus play a key role.