The Nymphalinae are a subfamily of brush-footed butterflies (family Nymphalidae). Sometimes, the subfamilies Limenitidinae, and Biblidinae are included here as subordinate tribe(s), while the tribe Melitaeini is occasionally regarded as a distinct subfamily. Their phylogenetics can be traced back to the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution after the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction, followed by repeated dispersals into the rest of the Old World and the New World during various periods beginning in the Eocene.

Systematics

The traditionally recognized tribes of Nymphalinae are here listed in the presumed phylogenetic sequence: Genera incertae sedis are: In addition to these, Crenidomimas is sometimes placed here, but may belong in the Limenitidinae, genus Euryphura. The Late Eocene fossil genus Lithodryas might belong here, but it is generally assigned to the Lycaenidae.