Losaria rhodifer

      Andaman Clubtail
      Scientific classification
      Kingdom: Animalia
      Phylum: Arthropoda
      Class: Insecta
      Order: Lepidoptera
      Family: Papilionidae
      Genus: Losaria
      Species: L. rhodifer
      Binomial name
      Losaria rhodifer
      (Butler, 1876)[1]
      Synonyms

      Atrophaneura rhodifer

      The Andaman Clubtail (Losaria rhodifer), a rare and beautiful member of the Swallowtail (Papilionidae) family, is native to India. The butterfly belongs to the genus Losaria, or the Clubtails, as they are commonly known.[1]

      Distribution

      The butterfly is endemic and restricted to the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.

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      Description

      Male differs from Losaria coon as follows:[2]

      Ground-colour a rich velvety-black, much darker than in doubledayi; on the fore wing the pale streaks extend only into the apex of the cell. On the hind wing the medial white markings are much shorter, the spots at base of interspaces 4 and 5 and generally the spot in interspace 7 absent; the subterminal and terminal vermilion spots are much larger, and the tail is vermilion on its apical spatulate portion. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in doubledayi, but the head entirely vermilion-red. Female closely resembles the male, fore wing broader, red markings on hind wing more crimson than vermilion-red, often dull and irrorated slightly with black scales; medial white markings more extensive, the white mark in interspace 1 extends well below vein 1.
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      Status

      It has been described as not rare but much work needs to be done to clarify its exact status and distribution. It is not listed as threatened.[3]

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      Taxonomy

      No subspecies.

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      Cited references

      1. ^ a b Häuser, Christoph L.; de Jong, Rienk ; Lamas, Gerardo ; Robbins, Robert K.; Smith, Campbell & Vane-Wright, Richard I. (28 July 2005). "Papilionidae – revised GloBIS/GART species checklist (2nd draft)". Entomological Data Information System. Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Germany. Retrieved 21 June 2013. 
      2. ^ Bingham, C. T. (1907). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Butterflies (Volume 2).. London: Taylor & Francis. Retrieved 15 June 2013. 
      3. ^ Collins, N.M. & Morris, M.G. (1985) Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. IUCN. ISBN 2-88032-603-6
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      References

      • Evans, W.H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India
      • Haribal, Meena (1994) Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and their Natural History.
      • Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.
      • K. Veenakumari & Prashanth Mohanraj , 1994 Life history of Pachliopta rhodifer (Papilionidae: Troidini) Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 1994 Volume 48:111-120 pdf
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      Last modified on 20 June 2013, at 04:54