Papilio gallienus, the narrow-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the central part of the Republic of the Congo.

Papilio gallienus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species:
P. gallienus
Binomial name
Papilio gallienus
Synonyms
  • Papilio cypraeafila gallienus Distant, 1879
  • Papilio gallienus gallienus ab. vreuricki Dufrane, 1936
  • Papilio gallienus gallienus ab. ochreata Dufrane, 1936
  • Papilio gallienus ab. hulstaerti Berger, 1950

Taxonomy

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Papilio gallienus is very similar to Papilio mechowi but males of gallienus have a distinct androconial patch and the discal spots of the forewings have diffuse edges. The outer edge of the forewing discal band is straighter in gallienus. Both are members of the zenobia species group. In the zenobia group the basic upperside wing pattern is black with white or yellowish bands and spots. The underside is brown and basally there is a red area marked with black stripes and spots. In the discal area there is a yellowish band with black stripes and veins. Females resemble Amauris butterflies. Both sexes lack tails.

The clade members are:

Description

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It is very similar to Papilio cyproeofila but has cream-yellow rather than cream-white bands, and the hindwing band is much narrower than in P. cyproeofila and curved on the inner edge.[4]

 
Plate from Seitz showing P. cyproeofila and P. gallienus

References

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  1. ^ "Afrotropical Butterflies: File C – Papilionidae - Tribe Papilionini". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
  2. ^ Papilio, Site of Markku Savela
  3. ^ Distant, 1879 On some African species of the genus Papilio Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 1879 : 647-649, pl. 47 Text
  4. ^ Larsen, Torben B, 2005 Butterflies of West Africa. Apollo Books. Steenstrup Apollo Books, Stenstrup, Denmark ISBN 87-88757-43-9
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