Oeneis polixenes, the Polixenes Arctic[2] or Norique Alpin,[3] is a species of butterfly in the subfamily Satyrinae. It has a Circumpolar distribution occurring in northern parts of North America the Arctic Urals, Kamtchatka, Yakutia, Chukchi Peninsula, and northern Siberia.
| Polixenes Arctic | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Oeneis |
| Species: | O. polixenes
|
| Binomial name | |
| Oeneis polixenes | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Description
editThe wingspan is 33–51 mm.[2] The dorsal wings are dark grey brown, with orange patches near the wing margins. The upperside of the hindwings are a darker grey medially.[2]
Distribution
editO. polixenes occurs in northern Canada from coastal Newfoundland to the Yukon.[4]
Subspecies
editListed alphabetically:[1]
- O. p. antonovae Lukhtanov, 1989 – northern Siberia (Gyda Peninsula, Taimyr Peninsula, Wrangel Island)
- O. p. yukonensis Gibson, 1920 – south western Yukon
- O. p. beringiana Kurentzov, 1970 – eastern Chukot Region
- O. p. katahdin (Newcomb, 1901) – Maine (Mt. Katahdin)
- O. p. luteus Troubridge & Parshall, 1988 – Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska
- O. p. peartiae (Edwards, 1897) – Baffin
- O. p. polixenes – Labrador, Quebec
- O. p. subhyalina (Curtis, 1835) – Arctic Canada
- O. p. woodi Troubridge & Parshall, 1988 – Arctic coast (Yukon, Alaska)
- O. p. yukonensis Gibson, 1920 – south western Yukon
Similar species
edit- Philip's Arctic (O. rosovi)
- White-veined Arctic (O. bore)
- Melissa Arctic (O. melissa)
References
edit- ^ a b "Oeneis Hübner, [1819]" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
- ^ a b c Polixenes Arctic, Butterflies of Canada
- ^ Oeneis polixenes, ITIS
- ^ Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall and J.D. Lafontaine. (1998). The Butterflies of Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 280 pp. + color plates.