Cupido carswelli

Description

Cupido carswelli is a small butterfly found in the West Palearctic that belongs to the blues family. It is endemic to Spain.Cupido carswelli was described by Henri Stempffer as a form of Cupido minimus.The taxonomic status of the taxon carswelli is still unclear: depending on the sources, it is considered either a species in its own right or a subspecies of Cupido minimus , as at the time of its description. A recent morphometric analysis suggests that both taxa are conspecific, while a molecular barcoding study supports the opposite viewpoint, making carswelli appear to be closer to Cupido lorquinii (another species present in the Iberian Peninsula) than Cupido minimus sensu stricto. More in-depth molecular analyzes are considered necessary to resolve the relationship between these three closely related taxa.