Papilio aristophontes

Papilio aristophontes
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Genus:	Papilio
Species:	P. aristophontes
Binomial name
Papilio aristophontes Oberthür, 1897[1][2]

Papilio aristophontes is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is endemic to Comoros.

It is listed as a red list species due to the its rarity and the threats to its survival. The eggs are laid on the plant Toddalia asiatica, but the caterpillars have been reared on other members of the Rutaceae in captivity.

Description

Male: The upper forewing of the male is black with an iridescent blue bands and five blue spots.The under hindwing is black with an iridescent blue band and a row of blue submarginal spots. The hindwing has a scalloped margin and no tail. The lower forewing is entirely blackish-brown and the lower hindwing is red-brown with black veins.The lower hindwing has a narrow cream submarginal band with silver reflections.

Female:The female is olive-green and brown.The upper forewing and under hindwing are brown with a dull olive green median band and a submarginal band consisting of yellowish-olive lunules. These are continuous over both wings. The lower forewing and the lower hindwing are red-brown with a silvery submarginal band which is continuous over both wings. There is a fawn brown median band on the hindwing with pinkish-grey scales on the outside, and a white abdominal spot.

Taxonomy

Papilio aristophontes belongs to a clade called the nireus species-group with 13 members. The pattern is black with green bands and spots and the butterflies, although called swallowtails lack tails with the exception of Papilio charopus The clade members are:

• Papilio aristophontes Oberthür, 1897
• Papilio nireus Linnaeus, 1758
• Papilio charopus Westwood, 1843
• Papilio chrapkowskii Suffert, 1904
• Papilio chrapkowskoides Storace, 1952
• Papilio desmondi van Someren, 1939
• Papilio hornimani Distant, 1879
• Papilio interjectana Vane-Wright, 1995
• Papilio sosia Rothschild & Jordan, 1903
• Papilio thuraui Karsch, 1900
• Papilio ufipa Carcasson, 1961
• Papilio wilsoni Rothschild, 1926

In some works aristophontes is ranked as a subspecies of Papilio nireus. D'Abrera, following Carcasson, recently reinstated it to full species rank.

References

1. Afrotropical Butterflies: File C – Papilionidae - Tribe Papilionini
2. Papilio aristophontes, Site of Markku Savela

Sources

• Gimenez Dixon, M. (1996). Papilio aristophontes. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 31 July 2007.

External links

• Swallowtails.net Images.