Abaratha ransonnetii, commonly known as the golden angle,[1] is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It was first described by Baron Cajetan von Felder in 1868.[2][3][4][1][5][6]

Golden angle
Wet-season form
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Abaratha
Species:
A. ransonnetii
Binomial name
Abaratha ransonnetii
(C. Felder, 1868)
Synonyms
  • Pterygospidea ransonnetii Felder, 1868
  • Abaratha ransonneti Moore, [1881]
  • Caprona ransonnetii (Felder, 1868)
  • Caprona ransonnetti (Felder, 1868) [lapsus]

Subspecies

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The following subspecies are recognised:

  • Abaratha ransonnetii potiphera Hewitson, 1873 (India)[1][7][8]
  • Abaratha ransonnetii ransonnetii (Sri Lanka)[8]

Range

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It occurs in India (Gujarat, Jharkhand, Odisha and southwards to Kerala) and Sri Lanka.[8][1][7]

Description

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Showing hairs beneath head

In 1891, Edward Yerbury Watson gave this detailed description:

Upperside fuliginous ochreous-brown. Male; forewing with three small semi-transparent white spots before the apex (and sometimes one or two very minute spots obliquely below them), two spots within end of the cell, a slender spot between the upper and middle median veins, a larger spot between the latter vein and submedian, and followed below it by two small obliquely disposed spots; a marginal double row of pale indistinct small lunules; hindwing with a broad medial discal macular pale ochreous band traversed by brown veins and a spot within end of the cell, the outer discal area suffused with grey-brown. Cilia alternated with white. Female; forewing with the spots and marginal lunules, and the macular band on hindwing more prominent, the latter also more distinctly bordered with grey. Underside: forewing paler brown; the basal area greyish-white, the spots with clouded black outer borders; hindwing greyish-white, the outer margin only being brown, traversed by a curved discal series of small blackish spots.[8]

The dry-season form which has been named A. taylorii by de Niceville differs in being ochreous not dark brown above, and in having the disc of the hindwing unmarked with a group of ochreous spots and streaks. A similar variation has been noted by Mr. de Niceville in C. tissa, a not very distantly allied species, and in both cases it is the dry-season form which is the paler.[8]

— E.Y. Watson
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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Varshney, R.; Smetacek, P. A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India (2015 ed.). New Delhi: Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal and Indinov Publishing. p. 33.
  2. ^ Savela, Markku. "Caprona ransonnetii (Felder, 1868)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  3. ^ Felder, Baron Cajetan von (1868). "Diagnose neuer von E. Baron v. Ransonnet in Vorder-Indien gesammelter Lepidopteren". Zoologisch-Botanische Gesellschaft in Wien. 18 (1–2): 284.
  4. ^ Moore, Frederic (1880). The Lepidoptera of Ceylon. London: L. Reeve & co. p. 182.
  5. ^ W. H., Evans (1949). A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae from Europe, Asia, and Australia in the British Museum. London: British Museum (Natural History). Department of Entomology. p. 160.
  6. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Swinhoe, Charles (1912–1913). Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. X. London: Lovell Reeve and Co. pp. 73–75.
  7. ^ a b "Caprona ransonnettii Felder, 1868 – Golden Angle". Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e E. Y., Watson (1891). Hesperiidae Indicae : being a reprint of descriptions of the Hesperiidae of India, Burma, and Ceylon. Madras: Vest and Company. p. 99.