Castalius

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Panorpida
Cladus: Amphiesmenoptera
Ordo: Lepidoptera
Subordo: Glossata
Cladus: Coelolepida
Cladus: Myoglossata
Cladus: Neolepidoptera
Infraordo: Heteroneura
Cladus: Eulepidoptera
Cladus: Ditrysia
Cladus: Apoditrysia
Cladus: Obtectomera
Superfamilia: Papilionoidea

Familia: Lycaenidae
Subfamilia: Polyommatinae
Tribus: Polyommatini
Genus: Castalius
Species: C. clathratus – C. fasciatus – C. rosimon
Name

Castalius Hübner, [1819] (5):70

Type species: Papilio rosimon Fabricius, 1775: 523. By selection of Scudder, 1875 10:135.
References

Bethune-Baker, G. T., 1917. A revision of the genus Tarucus. Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. 65: 269–296. BHL. Reference page.
Eliot, J.N. 1973. The higher classification of the Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera): a tentative arrangement. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), entomology 28(6): 371-505. Reference page.
Fabricius, J.C. 1775. Systema entomologiae, sistens insectorum classes, ordines, genera, species, adiectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, observationibus. Libraria Kortii, Flensburgi et Lipsiae. xvi+ 832 pp. DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.36510. BHL. Reference page.
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.) PDF. Reference page.
Holland, W.J., 1890. Asiatic Lepidoptera. List of the diurnal Lepidoptera taken by Mr. William Doherty of Cincinnati in Celebes, June and July 1887, with descriptions of some apparently new forms. Proc. Boston Soc. nat. Hist. 25: 52–82, pls 3-5. BHL text, Plates. Reference page.
Hübner, J. 1819. Verzeichniß bekannter Schmettlinge 2–11: 17–176. BHL Reference page.
[1] Savela, M. Funet: Polyommatini.
Scudder, S. H., 1875. Historical sketch of the generic names proposed for butterflies. Proc. amer. Soc. Arts Sci. Boston. 10: 91-293.
Vane-Wright, R. I. & de Jong, R., 2003. The Butterflies of Sulawesi, NMNH, Leiden.
Williams, M. C., 2008. Checklist of Afrotropical Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea. 7th Edn. (April 2007). Downloaded from [2] Afrotropical Butterflies.

Castalius is a butterfly genus in the family Lycaenidae. They are commonly known as Pierrots. This name is also often used for the very closely related genus Tarucus.

In fact, the delimitation of Castalius versus Tarucus is not yet fully resolved, with some species, such as the dark Pierrot (T. ananda), having been moved between the two genera repeatedly. Regardless of how this may turn out, the African species formerly placed in Castalius are now in Tuxentius (pied Pierrots) and Zintha (blue-eyed Pierrot), which are also very close relatives (in particular the former).
Species

Only four species are placed in Castalius nowadays. But as noted above, it may be that Tarucus and the present genus are eventually regarded as synonymous. In that case, the older name Castalius would again apply to the two dozen species in question.[1]

Castalius clathratus (Holland, [1891]) Celebes
Castalius fasciatus (Röber, 1887) Celebes
Castalius fluvialis (Grose-Smith, 1895) Celebes
Castalius rosimon (Fabricius, 1775) – common Pierrot

Footnotes

Brower (2008), and see references in Savela (2009)

References

Brower, Andrew V.Z. (2008): Tree of Life Web Project – Castalius Hübner 1819. Pierrots. Version of 19 May 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
Savela, Markku (2009): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms – Castalius. Version of 30 March 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2009.