''Papilio dravidarum'', the Malabar raven, is a species of

swallowtail butterfly Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the larg ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Western Ghats of India.

Description

The Malabar raven is a blackish-brown tailless swallowtail butterfly, about 80 to 100 mm in size. Both the sexes are similar and are mimics of the unpalatable common crow (''

Euploea core ''Euploea core'', also known as the common crow, is a common butterfly found in South Asia to Australia. In India it is also sometimes referred to as the common Indian crow, and in Australia as the Australian crow. It belongs to the crows and tig ...

''). The upper forewing has a small white spot at the end of the cell, a complete series of equal sized marginal white spots in regular row and a terminal series of spots decreasing in size towards the apex. The upper hindwing has a discal series of arrow shaped white spots. It also has a submarginal series of elongated white crescent shaped markings. There is a white fringe between the veins. The outer halves of wings have a dusting of yellowish brown scales.

Range

It is endemic to the Western Ghats in South India where it occurs in the states of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

and

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

Status

The butterfly is uncommon but not known to be threatened. It was commonest in Wynaad and Coorg in the past and rarer towards the extremities of its range.

Habitat

This butterfly frequents heavy jungles of the Western Ghats between . It has been recorded in January and from March to October.

Habits

The Malabar raven resembles the model common crow in habits and flight, but is faster than the other mimic, the common mime. It prefers shady patches. The males drink at wet patches especially in the hot dry pre-monsoon days.

Life cycle

There are two to three broods a year. It is recorded in Coorg as having broods from September to October, November to December, and, from April to May. It has been recorded in Karnataka in July and in September. Males appear to outnumber the females. File:Papilio dravidarum – Malabar Raven 02.jpg, Caterpillar File:Papilio dravidarum – Malabar Raven 13.jpg, Caterpillar pupating File:Papilio dravidarum – Malabar Raven 05.jpg, Pupa

Food plants

* ''

Glycosmis pentaphylla ''Glycosmis pentaphylla'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae, known commonly as orangeberry and gin berry. It occurs in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. It is cultivated for its edible pink fruits. In temperate zones, it ...

'' of the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

. Others that have been noted include '' Clausena heptaphylla''.Kunte, K. 2006. Additions to known larval host plants of Indian butterflies. ''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society'' 103(1):119-120

Systematics

''Papilio dravidarum'' is a member of the ''castor''

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. The

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

members are: *'' Papilio castor'' Westwood, 1842 *''Papilio dravidarum'' Wood-Mason, 1880 *'' Papilio mahadeva'' Moore,

879 __NOTOC__ Year 879 ( DCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * April 10 – King Louis the Stammerer dies at Compiègne, after a reign of 18 months. He is succeeded by hi ...

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References

Other sources

* * * * * *

External links

Butterfly Corner
Images from

Naturhistorisches Museum Wien The Natural History Museum Vienna () is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museums and non-university research institutions in Austria and an important center of excellence for all matt ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1317895 dravidarum Butterflies of Asia Butterflies described in 1880 Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats Taxa named by James Wood-Mason