''Danaus melanippus'', the black veined tiger, white tiger, common tiger, or eastern common tiger, is a butterfly

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

found in tropical

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

which belongs to the "crows and tigers", that is, the danaine group of the

brush-footed butterflies The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a redu ...

family. It ranges from

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

in eastern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

through

South-East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

south to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, and eastwards to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and through southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. It has around 17

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

, and its closest relative is the

Malay tiger ''Danaus affinis'', the Malay tiger, mangrove tiger or swamp tiger, is a butterfly found in tropical Asia. It belongs to the "crows and tigers", the danaine group of the brush-footed butterflies family. This is a highly variable species. In ...

, ''Danaus affinis''.Smith, David A. S.; Lushai, Gugs & Allen, John A. (2005). A classification of ''Danaus'' butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) based upon data from morphology and DNA. '' Zool. J. Linn. Soc.'' 144(2): 191–212. (HTML abstract)

Gallery

File:Danaus melanippus 176900779.jpg File:Danaus melanippus 56377028.jpg File:Danaus melanippus edmondii 26084008.jpg File:Danaus melanippus 144305698.jpg File:Danaus melanippus 177892859.jpg File:Danaus melanippus hegesippus 99300826.jpg File:Danaus melanippus hegesippus 99300809.jpg File:Danaus melanippus hegesippus 70140797.jpg

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically:"''Danaus'' Kluk, 1780"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' *''D. m. celebensis'' (Staudinger, 1889) – northern Sulawesi *''D. m. edmondii'' (Bougainville, 1837) – Philippines *''D. m. edwardi'' (van Eecke, 1914) – Simeulue *''D. m. eurydice'' (Butler, 1884) – Nias *''D. m. haruhasa'' Doherty, 1891 – Sumbawa - Alor *''D. m. hegesippus'' (Cramer,

777 777 may refer to: * 777 (number), a number * AD 777, a year of the Julian calendar * 777 BC, a year in the 8th century BC * Boeing 777, a commercial jet airliner :* Boeing 777X, the newer generation of the Boeing 777. Art and entertainment Alb ...

– Peninsular Malaya, Langkawi, Singapore, Sumatra, Bangka, Belitung *''D. m. indicus'' (Fruhstorfer, 1899) – eastern India - Thailand, Indo-China *''D. m. keteus'' (Hagen, 1898) – Mentawai *''D. m. kotoshonis'' Matsumura, 1929 – Taiwan *''D. m. lotina'' (Fruhstorfer, 1904) – Natuna Island *''D. m. lotis'' (Cramer,

779 __NOTOC__ Year 779 ( DCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 779 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Eur ...

*''D. m. melanippus'' (Cramer,

– Java *''D. m. meridionigra'' Martin,

914 __NOTOC__ Year 914 ( CMXIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Empress Zoe Karbonopsina leads a palace coup at Constantino ...

/small> – central Sulawesi *''D. m. nesippus'' (Felder, 1862) – Nicobars *''D. m. pietersi'' (Doherty, 1891) – Enggano *''D. m. umbrosus'' Fruhstorfer, 1906 – Pualu Tello

References

* * * * *

External links

* * Danaus (butterfly) Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Singapore Butterflies of Indochina Butterflies described in 1777 Taxa named by Pieter Cramer {{Danainae-stub

Gallery

Subspecies

See also

References

External links