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
Male
Female C. m. madensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Charaxes
Species:
C. mars
Binomial name
Charaxes mars
Synonyms
  • Charaxes mars var. dohertyi Rothschild, 1892
  • Charaxes madensis Rothschild, 1899

Technical description

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male 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

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  • Charaxes mars mars (northern Sulawesi)
  • Charaxes mars dohertyi Rothschild, 1892 (southern Sulawesi)
  • Charaxes mars madensis Rothschild, 1899 (Buru)

References

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  1. ^ "Point Map of Charaxes mars". Discover Life. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  2. ^ 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.