Kretania

Kretania is a Palearctic genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae.^[1]

Species

Listed alphabetically within groups:^[2]

The eurypilus species-group:

• Kretania csomai (Bálint, 1992)
• Kretania eurypilus (Freyer, 1852) – eastern brown argus
• Kretania iranica (Forster, 1938)
• Kretania psylorita (Freyer, 1845) – Cretan argus
• Kretania zamotajlovi Shchurov & Lukhtanov, 2001

The pylaon species-group:

• Kretania allardii (Oberthür, 1874)
• Kretania beani (Bálint & Johnson, 1997)
• Kretania hesperica (Rambur, 1840)
• Kretania klausrosei (Bálint, 1992)
• Kretania martini (Allard, 1867) – Martin's blue
• Kretania modica (Verity, 1935)
• Kretania nicholli (Elwes, 1901)
• Kretania patriarcha (Bálint, 1992)
• Kretania philbyi (Graves, 1925)
• Kretania pylaon (Fischer de Waldheim, 1832) – zephyr blue
• Kretania sephirus (Frivaldszky, 1835)
• Kretania stekolnikovi Stradomsky & Tikhonov, 2015
• Kretania trappi (Verity, 1927)
• Kretania usbekus (Forster, 1939)
• Kretania zephyrinus (Christoph, 1884)

The alcedo species-group:

• Kretania alcedo (Christoph, 1877)

Taxonomy

Kretania used to be often included in Polyommatus or in Plebejus, but molecular studies have led to reinstate it as a valid genus, now also encompassing species formerly included in Plebejides (i.e. the pylaon species-group), and K. alcedo (formerly in Vacciniina).

References