''Papilio iswara'', the great Helen, is a species of large

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 larges ...

found in parts of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

Status

''Papilio iswara'' is not uncommon and not

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

Subspecies

*''Papilio iswara iswara'' (southern Burma to Singapore, Sumatra, Bangka) *''Papilio iswara araspes'' C. & R. Felder, 1859 (northern Borneo, Natuna Island)

Taxonomy

''Papilio iswara'' is a member of the ''helenus''

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 members of this clade are: *''

Papilio helenus ''Papilio helenus'', the red Helen, is a large swallowtail butterfly found in forests of southern India and parts of southeast Asia. Range ''Papilio helenus'' is rarely found in Sri Lanka, southern and north-east India, Nepal, Bhutan, Banglades ...

'' Linnaeus, 1758 *''Papilio iswara'' White, 1842 *'' Papilio iswaroides'' Fruhstorfer, 1898 *''

Papilio nephelus ''Papilio nephelus'' is a species of swallowtail butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. Subspecies include ''P. n. chaon'', the yellow Helen, and ''P. n. sunatus'', the black and white Helen. Description ''Papilio nephelus'' has a win ...

'' Boisduval, 1836 *''

Papilio nubilus ''Papilio nubilus'' is a rare species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that can be found in Borneo. Previously listed as a distinct species ( D'Abrera 1982, Munroe 1961), but now regarded (by Collins & Morris 1985, Tsukada ...

'' Staudinger, 1895 *'' Papilio sataspes'' C. & R. Felder, 1865

Type material

The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

is conserved in the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum ...

References

* White, A., 1842, Notice of two New Species of ''Papilio'' from Penang, presented to the British Museum by Sir. Wm. Norris. ''

Entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

'' 1:280

*

External links

Butterflies in Indo-China
Papilio, iswara Butterflies described in 1842 Butterflies of Singapore Butterflies of Borneo Butterflies of Indochina {{Papilionidae-stub