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Post by nomad on Mar 24, 2013 10:41:53 GMT -8
Chilasa moerneri certainly seems to be very rare in nature. Chris Muller only originally found two pupae in 1998 and observed one female flying high around the canopy of the New Ireland Rainforest during several months that he spent there. A return expedition of two months during 2000 yielded no sightings of this very rare butterfly. There may have been later expeditions to the locality of C. moerneri . Chris Muller mentioned in his Paper on the rediscovery of this butterfly, that the rare very subspecies mayrhoferi from Eastern New Britain was described from a single male specimen by O. Bang-Haas in 1939 and that this holotype specimen was never illustrated and is now lost. However I have been able to locate an image of the holotype male Chilasa moerneri mayrhoferi from the Dresden Museum with its accompanying data. Hopefully this specimen still resides at Dresden. It is interesting that the German Entolomologist and dealer Otto Bang-Haas [1882-1948] was a descendant of the great Otto Staudinger. He inherited the business from his father the Danish Andreas Bang-Haas who entered into a partnership with Otto Staudinger as a young man, and married his daughter. The holotype male of C. moerneri mayrhoferi from the Dresden Museum. Attachments:
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Post by nomad on Mar 24, 2013 10:44:14 GMT -8
The data of the historic holotype C. moerneri mayrhoferi specimen. Attachments:
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Post by Adam Cotton on Mar 24, 2013 11:33:43 GMT -8
The underside is spectacular too. Adam. Attachments:
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Post by Adam Cotton on Mar 24, 2013 11:40:11 GMT -8
PS. So far as I know this is only the 3rd recorded specimen of Papilio tryoni. I've written a paper about it, yet to be published, in which I "prove" that its not a good species. Ridgetop approx 2kms West of Kolomola Village Sothern Highlands Santa Isabel Is Solomon Islands approx 500m October 2003 D Hall Leg Tennent (1999) provisionally placed tryoni as a male form of P. bridgei/erskinei; but since it is only known from very few specimens I feel it could also be a natural hybrid with woodfordi. What is your opinion of the identity of tryoni? Adam. |
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Post by wollastoni on Mar 24, 2013 12:23:15 GMT -8
Peter < "mayrhoferi" was used by Bang-Haas to honour M. Mayrhofer the local German collector who discovered this ssp.
This man also discovered a wonderful Delias : Delias mayrhoferi.
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jaume
Full Member
Posts: 210
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Post by jaume on Mar 24, 2013 14:38:35 GMT -8
I agree that levassori is one of the rarest swallowtails. Parides klagesi is also missing in many of the most important papilionidae collections in the world. Another ultra rare papilio is for example atrophaneura matsudai; very few specimens are known in private collections.
Chilasa moerneri is rare of course, but right now a good number of specimens are in collections.
JAUME
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mygos
Full Member
Posts: 230
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Post by mygos on Mar 25, 2013 5:30:26 GMT -8
True nomad, homerus is also very rare in collection, despite its protection that most of the time increase the number of specimens on the market. But I think levassori is even rarer in collection. Some members here have homerus in their collection, never heard of someone with a levassori. If someone have one, I would love to see the picture. Some French collectors tried to find levassori in its habitat at the good period... in vain. Hi Olivier, Here is a pair of Graphium levassori ! Attachments:
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mygos
Full Member
Posts: 230
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Post by mygos on Mar 25, 2013 5:33:52 GMT -8
The man who sent me the picture of Graphium levassori said that it is probably Papilio wilsoni which is the rarest of all !
A+, Michel
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Post by africaone on Mar 25, 2013 6:11:32 GMT -8
The man who sent me the picture of Graphium levassori said that it is probably Papilio wilsoni which is the rarest of all ! A+, Michel what is rarest then ? aurivilliusi only the small type series and abri only two males ? |
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Post by wollastoni on Mar 25, 2013 7:14:27 GMT -8
Great levassori pair Michel ! I think I know the collector.
I think I have never seen a picture of P. wilsoni.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Mar 25, 2013 9:00:51 GMT -8
I think I have never seen a picture of P. wilsoni. D'Abrera's Afrotropical volume (2nd edition, Part 1) pictures both sides of a pair of wilsoni, and states his reasons why wilsoni should be treated as a good species, rather than a subspecies of P. nireus. The upperside certainly looks like an extreme variant of pseudonireus with further reduction of the foreing discal band. Here's a small version of a photo of a paratype, the original of which can be found here: www.africamuseum.be/lepidoptera/pictures/DSCN3281.JPGAdam. Attachments:
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Post by Adam Cotton on Mar 25, 2013 9:02:24 GMT -8
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Post by wollastoni on Mar 25, 2013 9:07:50 GMT -8
Thanks. Look like an aberrant nireus to me !  |
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Post by Adam Cotton on Mar 25, 2013 9:15:09 GMT -8
Thanks. Look like an aberrant nireus to me ! P. nireus pseudonireus from Ethiopia is basically nireus with very reduced forewing discal band, wilsoni seems to be based on extreme specimens of this from further northwest (Talodi is in the southern part of current Sudan, not far north of the border with South Sudan). D'Abrera pointed out that wilsoni lacks 'blue marginal spots on the f.w.r.', but one third of my 15 males of pseudonireus from southern Ethiopia also lack these spots. Certainly fresh specimens which can be sent for DNA analysis would quickly give us a clear answer as to whether or not wilsoni belongs to nireus. Unfortunately it is unlikely that specimens will be available from this volatile area any time soon. Adam. |
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Post by panzerman on Mar 25, 2013 10:01:50 GMT -8
Of the 14 species I am missing, eight are African graphium: simoni aurivilliusi abri junodi pelopidas 2 ssp. olbrechsti 2 ssp. poggianus 2 ssp. levassori I know Bernard Turlin lived on Comoros for many years and only caught a few(knowing the right place, time) that speaks volumes. But then I wonder how many battus polydamas antiquus from Antigua, papilio polyxenes polyxenes from Cuba are still in collections. They have been extinct for many years. Parides a. castilhoi, klagesi (2 ssp.) c. maroni, c. dospassosi, battus belus aureochloris are rarely ever seen. Papilio alexiares alexiares, battus chalceus chalceus, e. obertheuri super rare Mexican papilionidae. In ornithoptera there is the ext. rarity chimaera flavidior. Only 4 specimens of o. paradisea are known from Suipiori Is. and so it goes. I onced picked up 2 graphium nigrescens(Gabon) never seen any since... John  |
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