Charaxes junius is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Ethiopia and Sudan.[1] The habitat consists of forests and woodland savanna.
Charaxes junius is distinguished from brutus by having the discal band on the upper surface light yellow and in cellule 1 b of the forewing 6–1 mm. in breadth. Abyssinia. - — somalicus Rothsch. only differs from junius in the somewhat narrower median band on both wings. Somaliland.[2]
Charaxes junius Oberthür, 1880 is treated as a subspecies of brutus (Cramer, 1779) by Van Someren [4] Henning treats junius as a distinct species on the authority of Plantrou (1983).[5] [6]
Historical attempts to assemble a cluster of presumably related species into a "Charaxes jasius Group" have not been wholly convincing. More recent taxonomic revision,[7] corroborated by phylogenetic research, allow a more rational grouping congruent with cladistic relationships. Within a well-populated clade of 27 related species sharing a common ancestor approximately 16 mya during the Miocene, 26 are now considered together as The jasius Group.[7] One of the two lineages within this clade forms a robust monophyletic group of seven species sharing a common ancestor approximately 2-3 mya, i.e. during the Pliocene,[8] and are considered as the jasius subgroup.[7] The second lineage leads to 19 other species within the Jasius group, which are split into three well-populated subgroups of closely related species.
The jasius Group (26 Species).[7]
Clade 1: the jasius subgroup.
Clade 2: contains the three well-populated additional subgroups (19 species) of the jasius Group, called the brutus, pollux, and eudoxus subgroups.[7]
Further exploration of the phylogenetic relationships amongst existing Charaxes taxa is required to improve clarity.