''Parides vercingetorix'' is a species of

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

in the family

Papilionidae Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the larges ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

. Formerly, this species was known as ''Parides coelus'' and originally described as ''Papilio coelus'' by

Jean Baptiste Boisduval Jean Baptiste Alphonse Déchauffour de Boisduval (24 June 1799 – 30 December 1879) was a French lepidopterist, botanist, and physician. He was one of the most celebrated lepidopterists of France, and was the co-founder of the Société entomol ...

in 1836, but that name was already used in 1781 by Stoll for the butterfly now known as ''

Aguna coelus An ''agunah'' ( he, עגונה, plural: agunot (); literally "anchored" or "chained") is a Jewish woman who is stuck in her religious marriage as determined by ''halakha'' (Jewish law). The classic case of this is a man who has left on a journey ...

''. Consequently, the ''Parides'' species had to receive a new name.

Description

Forewing with a white spot, obsolete at the margins, which fills up the extremity of the cell, and extends on to the disc. Hindwing with red band on the disc, in the male composed of four spots, in the female of six. A full description is provided by Rothschild, W. and Jordan, K. (1906)

Description from Seitz

P. coelus Boisd. (male = ''vercingetorix'' Oberth.) (Id). Forewing with a white spot, obsolete at the margins, which fills up the extremity of the cell, and extends on to the disc. Hindwing with red band on the disc, in the male composed of four spots, in the female of six. — French Guiana, the male in Oberthur's Collection, one female in the Paris Museum.

Taxonomy

''Parides vercingetorix'' is a member of the ''chabrias''

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

Edwin Möhn, 2007 ''Butterflies of the World'', Part 26: Papilionidae XIII. ''Parides'' Verlag Goecke & Evers Verlag Goecke & Evers The members are *''

Parides chabrias ''Parides chabrias'' is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found in Brazil (Amazonas), Ecuador and Peru. It is a woodland species. The female flies slowly near the ground, whilst the male has a swifter flight and generally r ...

'' *''Parides coelus'' *''

Parides hahneli ''Parides hahneli'', the Hahnel's Amazonian swallowtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is endemic to Brazil in the states of Rondônia, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Pará, where it was placed on the list of endangered sp ...

'' *''

Parides mithras ''Parides mithras'' is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found in Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana and Brazil ( Amazonas). ''Parides mithras'' is very similar to ''Parides chabrias'' but has paler and smaller spots, especi ...

'' *''

Parides pizarro ''Parides pizarro'' is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found in Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. Description Abdomen in the male quite black, in the female with a red spot before the apex on the underside. Forewing wi ...

'' *''

Parides quadratus ''Parides quadratus'' is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found in Brazil and Peru. Description Forewing long; hindwing in both sexes with a band consisting of yellowish-white spots on the disc close to the cell, and o ...

Status

A rare little known species.

References

*Lewis, H. L., 1974 ''Butterflies of the World'' Page 26, figure 6, female *

External links

Endemic fauna of French Guiana Lepidoptera of French Guiana

vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite h ...

Papilionidae of South America Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{papilionidae-stub