Danaus (genus)
Overview
 
Danaus, commonly called Tigers, Milkweeds, Monarchs, and Queens, is a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of butterflies
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 in the tiger butterfly
Danaini
Danaini is a tribe of nymphalid butterflies.-Classification:* Subtribus Danaina Boisduval, [1833]** Amauris** Danaus** Ideopsis** Parantica** Tiradelphe** Tirumala* Subtribus Euploeina Moore, [1880]** Anetia...

 tribe
Tribe (biology)
In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...

. They are found worldwide, including North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. For other Tigers see the genus, Parantica
Parantica
Parantica, commonly called Tigers, is an Old World genus of butterflies in subfamily Danainae of family Nymphalidae. They are found in southeastern Asia, Indonesia, Papua-New Guinea, and the Philippines...

.
Following the review of Smith et al. (2005), 12 species are provisionally accepted based on morphological
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....

, mtDNA 12S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase
Cytochrome c oxidase
The enzyme cytochrome c oxidase or Complex IV is a large transmembrane protein complex found in bacteria and the mitochondrion.It is the last enzyme in the respiratory electron transport chain of mitochondria located in the mitochondrial membrane...

 subunit
Protein subunit
In structural biology, a protein subunit or subunit protein is a single protein molecule that assembles with other protein molecules to form a protein complex: a multimeric or oligomeric protein. Many naturally occurring proteins and enzymes are multimeric...

 I, and nuclear DNA
Nuclear DNA
Nuclear DNA, nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid , is DNA contained within a nucleus of eukaryotic organisms. In mammals and vertebrates, nuclear DNA encodes more of the genome than the mitochondrial DNA and is composed of information inherited from two parents, one male, and one female, rather than...

 18S rRNA and EF1
Elongation factor
Elongation factors are a set of proteins that facilitate the events of translational elongation, the steps in protein synthesis from the formation of the first peptide bond to the formation of the last one.Elongation is the most rapid step in translation:...

 subunit α sequence
DNA sequence
The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...

 data:
  • Danaus affinis
    Danaus affinis
    The Malay Tiger is a butterfly found in tropical Asia. It belongs to the "Crows and Tigers", that is, the danaine group of the Brush-footed butterflies family.This is a highly variable species...

    (Fabricius, 1775) – Malay Tiger
  • Danaus chrysippus
    Danaus chrysippus
    Danaus chrysippus, known as the Plain Tiger or African Monarch, is a common butterfly which is widespread in Asia and Africa. It belongs to the Danainae subfamily of the brush-footed butterfly family, Nymphalidae...

    (Linnaeus, 1758) – Plain Tiger, Common Tiger, or African Queen
  • Danaus cleophile (Godart, 1819) – Jamaican Monarch
    Jamaican monarch
    The Jamaican Monarch is a species of milkweed butterfly in the nymphalid Danainae subfamily. It is found in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica.-Source:* Lepidoptera Specialist Group 1996. . Downloaded on 31 July 2007....

  • Danaus dorippus (Klug, 1845) – Dorippus Tiger (formerly included in D.
 
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