''Papilio paris tamilana'', the Tamil peacock, is an
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 ...
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 ...
found in southern India. It is a
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
of ''
Papilio paris
''Papilio paris'', the Paris peacock swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia.
Subspecies
*''P. p. arjuna'' Horsfield, 1828 (central Java)
*''P. p. battacorum'' Rothschild, 1908 (nort ...
'', the Paris peacock.
Description
''Papilio paris tamilana'' very closely resembles other subspecies of ''
Papilio paris
''Papilio paris'', the Paris peacock swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia.
Subspecies
*''P. p. arjuna'' Horsfield, 1828 (central Java)
*''P. p. battacorum'' Rothschild, 1908 (nort ...
'', but on the upperside the upper discal patch on the hindwing is of a paler more metallic blue and very considerably larger, it extends from interspace 3 well into interspace 7, from the apex of the cell into interspaces 3, 4, and 5, and from the middle of interspace 6 much further towards the termen than in typical ''P. paris''. Underside similar to that of the typical form, but the transverse postdiscal pale band on the forewing is conspicuously narrower and curved inwards towards the costa. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in typical ''P. paris''.
Wingspan: 116–134 mm
Habitat: southern India, Kanara, Nilgiris, Travancore.
Food plants
''
Erodia roxburghiana''
[
]
See also
* Papilionidae
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful Butterfly, 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 includ ...
* ''Papilio paris
''Papilio paris'', the Paris peacock swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia.
Subspecies
*''P. p. arjuna'' Horsfield, 1828 (central Java)
*''P. p. battacorum'' Rothschild, 1908 (nort ...
''
* List of butterflies of India (Papilionidae)
This is a list of the butterflies of family Papilionidae (superfamily Papilionoidea), or the swallowtails, which are found in India. This family of large and beautiful butterflies is well represented with 89 species found within Indian borde ...
References
paris tamilana
Butterfly subspecies
{{Papilionidae-stub