Parnassius tianschanicus

Parnassius tianschanicus, the large keeled Apollo, is a high-altitude butterfly. It is a member of the snow Apollo genus (Parnassius) of the swallowtail family, Papilionidae.

Large keeled Apollo
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Genus:	Parnassius
Species:	P. tianschanicus
Binomial name
Parnassius tianschanicus (Oberthür, 1879)
Synonyms
Parnassius romanovi Grum-Grshimailo, 1888

Range

It is found in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Afghanistan, Pakistan, south-western China and Xinjiang, reported from northern India (Jammu and Kashmir) by some authors by mistake.

Status

Locally very common but generally a rare butterfly. It is declining due to changes in its habitat and is thus considered to be vulnerable. More information is needed on this species.

See also

• Papilionidae
• List of butterflies of India
• List of butterflies of India (Papilionidae)

References

• Collins, N. Mark; Morris, Michael G. (1985). Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book. Gland & Cambridge: IUCN. ISBN 978-2-88032-603-6 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
• Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd ed.). Mumbai, India: Bombay Natural History Society.
• Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander (1957). Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society. ISBN 978-8170192329.
• Sakai S., Inaoka S., Toshiaki A., Yamaguchi S., Watanabe Y., (2002) The Parnassiology. The Parnassius Butterflies, A Study in Evolution, Kodansha, Japan.
• Weiss J.-C., (2005) Parnassiinae of the World - Part 4, Hillside Books, Canterbury, UK.

External links

• Goran Waldeck's Parnassius Site (includes tianschanicus photo and map)