Charaxes legeri
Charaxes legeri, the St. Leger's charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Burkina Faso, northern Benin, northern Nigeria and southern Niger. The habitat consists of woodland savanna at altitudes between 600 and 1,700 meters. Taxonomy. D’Abrera (1980) and Henning (1989) suggested that "Charaxes legeri" might be a hybrid between "Charaxes epijasius" and "Charaxes castor " Larsen (2005) however, argues that "Charaxes legeri" is a distinct species. Related species. Historical attempts to assemble a cluster of presumably related species into a ""Charaxes jasius" Group" have not been wholly convincing. More recent taxonomic revision , 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. One of the two lineages forms a robust clade of seven species sharing a common ancestor approximately 2-3 mya, i.e. during the Pliocene, and are considered as the "jasius" subgroup. The "jasius" Group (26 Species) Clade 1: "jasius" subgroup (7 species): Clade 2: contains the well-populated three additional subgroups (19 species) of the jasius Group, called the  brutus, "pollux", and "eudoxus" subgroups. Further exploration of the phylogenetic relationships amongst existing "Charaxes" taxa is required to improve clarity. Natural history. The larvae feed on "Sorghum bicolor" and "Annona" species.