Cigaritis elima, the scarce shot silverline,[1][2] is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly found in Sri Lanka and India. The species was first described by Frederic Moore in 1877.[1][2][3][4]

Scarce shot silverline
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Cigaritis
Species:
C. elima
Binomial name
Cigaritis elima
(Moore, 1877)
Synonyms
  • Aphnaeus elima Moore, 1877
  • Aphnaeus lunulifera Moore, 1879
  • Aphnaeus trifurcata Moore, 1882
  • Aphnaeus khurdanus Moore, 1884
  • Spindasis elima (Moore); Winter-Blyth, 1982

Description

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Male

Wings acute at apex; anal lobe prominently distended.

Male: Upperside brown, posterior half of fore wing and middle of hind wing glossed with smalt-blue; fore wing with a not very prominent subapical reddish patch, in which are two brown spots; abdominal margin pale testaceous; anal lobe reddish testaceous.
Female: Brown; fore wing with large triangular maculated red patch; hind wing with reddish discal streak and anal lobe. Underside dull pale testaceous; transverse spots and bands very pale, being defined only by outer margins, each traversed by a silver streak; no marginal row of dots.

Most nearly allied to Cigaritis ictis, from which it may be known by the less prominent apical red patch, the difference in colour and less apparent markings of the underside.

— Frederic Moore, Descriptions of Asiatic Diurnal Lepidoptera[4]

Subspecies

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Subspecies of Cigaritis elima:-[5]

  • Cigaritis elima elima Moore, 1877 – India
  • Cigaritis elima uniformis Moore, 1882 – Kashmir
  • Cigaritis elima fairliei
  • Cigaritis elima ictina

References

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  1. ^ a b R.K., Varshney; Smetacek, Peter (2015). A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. New Delhi: Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi. pp. 94–95. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164. ISBN 978-81-929826-4-9.
  2. ^ a b Savela, Markku. "Cigaritis elima (Moore, 1877)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  3. ^ A Pictorial Guide Butterflies of Gorumara National Park (2013 ed.). Department of Forests Government of West Bengal. p. 112.
  4. ^ a b   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Moore, Frederic (1877). "Descriptions of Asiatic Diurnal Lepidoptera". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. London: 51.
  5. ^ "Spindasis elima Moore, 1877 – Scarce Shot Silverline". Retrieved 31 March 2017.