Charaxes mars, the iron rajah, is a butterfly of the rajahs and nawabs group, i.e. the Charaxinae group of the brush-footed butterflies family. It is endemic to Sulawesi in central Indonesia.[1] Charaxes mars is a large butterfly with forewings with concave outer edge and hindwings each with a tail. The upper side of the forewings is dark blue and light in the basal part. The hindwings are orange with a submarginal line of dark brown ocelli.
Iron rajah | |
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Male | |
Female C. m. madensis | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Genus: | Charaxes |
Species: | C. mars
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Binomial name | |
Charaxes mars Staudinger, 1885
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Synonyms | |
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Technical description
editmale Tawny colour of upperside of hindwing not reaching in front of R1; black postdisco-submarginal patches all fused together (except dots M2S-M2), patch M1-M2 elongate, vein R3 and outer half of M1 black, tawny admarginal interspaces SC2- R2 faintly indicated; tail shorter than in mars dohertyifemale Unknown. madensis male Unknown. Most likely resembling that of Ch. mars.
female. Allied to Ch.mars. Upperside Forewing: blackish brown, no blue tone, white discal band broader than Ch. mars.[2]
Races
edit- Charaxes mars mars (northern Sulawesi)
- Charaxes mars dohertyi Rothschild, 1892 (southern Sulawesi)
- Charaxes mars madensis Rothschild, 1899 (Buru)
References
edit- ^ "Point Map of Charaxes mars". Discover Life. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ Rothschild, W. and Jordan, K. (1898). A monograph of Charaxes and the allied prionopterous genera. Novitates Zoologicae 1900 Volume 7:287-524. [4] Descriptions and plates (monochrome photos). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.