"Catagramma" is a genus of Neotropical butterflies; the name has a problematic history of differing usage, which especially continues to be used in a broader sense than any modern technical definitions e.g. among butterfly collectors as a form taxon. In that latter broad sense, the various "Catagramma" are popularly known as 88s in reference to patterning on the hindwing undersides which can resemble the number 88. They are medium-sized (around 5 cm (2 in) wingspan) forest dwellers.
A succession of early studies on the genus led to it containing over 100 species, essentially becoming a "wastebin taxon" associated with what became recognized as the tribe Callicorini in 1952. The former "Catagramma" are now divided amongst several closely related genera such as Callicore, Catacore, Diaethria, and Perisama; while others (like Cyclogramma) are not often considered distinct anymore. These genera have been found to be close relatives of Antigonis and Haematera, together group in Callicorini. The potential association of "Catagramma" with another subsequently described genus Paulogramma has been subject to differing opinion (see below).
Jean Baptiste Boisduval lumped this conspicuous group of Callicorini during his epic Lepidoptera reviews from the 1830s to 1850s. In many cases the generic names of previous authors were ignored, creating numerous junior subjective synonyms throughout, but was widely followed by subsequent sources. For example, the influential works by Hewitson (1857-1861) listed many new species under the genus Catagramma Boisduval, 1836, as later did Godman & Salvin (1879-1901) in their Biologia Centrali-Americana, helping establishing it for posterity.
Species
As of July 2023, the genus contains:
Catagramma eunomia
Catagramma hydarnis
Catagramma hystaspes
Catagramma pygas (= Godart's Numberwing) Catagramma pyracmon (= Google-eyed Eighty-Eight) Catagramma tolima (= Blue-and-orange Eighty-Eight)
Nomenclatural complications with "hydaspes"
The type species of the genus is 'Catagramma hydaspes Boisduval, 1836. This is based on a painted image of a butterfly in lateral view, said in the corresponding figure legend to be from "Bresil" (=Brazil), plausibly based on a specimen in Boisduval's own collection. The image has been taken as the basis for both the genus and species names - attributed to Boisduval (1836), despite that work itself attributing the species name to Fabricius saying "Fab. (non God.)". For some later authors, Boisduval's species was considered part of Callicore, although others treated Catagramma as a valid genus. Much later, Boisduval's species was said to be a junior subjective synonym of Callicore pygas (Godart, [1824]); which had been described earlier by Jean Baptiste Godart as Nymphalis Pygas Godart, [1824] (see Latreille & Godart, 1819-1824). The wording "Fab. (non God.)" by Boisduval may indicate that he did not consider the (re)-description of "Nymphalis hydaspes" Godart, [1824] to match that of Fabricius.
Several years earlier in 1793, Johan Christian Fabricius had given a brief Latin description of "Papilio hydaspes" in his major work (Fabricius 1793: p.54), which was likely the source that Boisduval (1836) referred to. However, Fabricius's (1793) description matches nearly verbatum to the similarly named "Papilio hystaspes" in an earlier description (Fabricius 1781: p.57). This naming confusion was highlighted by Donovan (1824) who provided a detailed re-description and new painted images of what was said to be the original Fabricius specimen from the same source, namely in Bank's collection. However, on re-description Donovan again adopted the latter (and arguably incorrect) name Hydaspes. Subsequently, this same species has been associated back to the earlier name Hystaspes, e.g. as the later combination Callicore hystaspes (Fabricius, 1781), interpreting that of Fabricius (1791) to be a lapsus].