Charaxes contrarius explained

Charaxes contrarius is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found along the coasts of Kenya and Tanzania.^[1] The habitat consists of lowland forests, heavy coastal woodland and riverine vegetation at altitudes of near sea-level up to 700 meters.

The larvae feed on Albizia species.

Subspecies

• C. c. contrarius - Coastal and Eastern parts of Kenya and Tanzania.
• C. c. lukosi Rydon, Congdon & Collins, 2007 ^[2] - Inland at Kitonga Gorge, Lukosi R., in Udzungwa Mts., Tanzania

Taxonomy

Charaxes contrarius is a member of the large species group Charaxes etheocles

Closely related to Charaxes etheocles, Charaxes grahamei and Charaxes petersi. The female has twomain forms ^[3]

References

• Victor Gurney Logan Van Someren, 1969 Revisional notes on African Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Part V. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Entomology)75-166.https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/19545#page/127/mode/1up

External links

• African Charaxes/Charaxes Africains Eric Vingerhoedt taxonomy, images
• Charaxes contrarius images at Charaxes page Consortium for the Barcode of Life subspecies and forms
• Images of C. contrarius Royal Museum for Central Africa (Albertine Rift Project)
• African Butterfly Database Range map via search

Notes and References

1. Web site: Afrotropical Butterflies: File H - Charaxinae - Tribe Charaxini . 2012-05-25 . 2013-11-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131109071734/http://atbutterflies.com/downloads/nymphalidae_charaxini.doc . dead .
2. Rydon, A.H.B., Congdon, T.C.E. & Collins, S.C. 2007. A new subspecies of Charaxes contrarius van Someren, 1969 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Charaxinae) from Tanzania.Metamorphosis 18 (4): 144-150.
3. Kielland, J. 1990 . Butterflies of Tanzania. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363.