Graphium glycerion explained

Graphium glycerion, the spectacle swordtail, is a species of butterfly found in the Indomalayan realm (northern India, China, Thailand, Laos and northern Vietnam). The species was first described by George Robert Gray in 1831.

Subspecies

• G. g glycerion (Nepal, Sikkim, Assam)
• G. g. caschmirensis (Rothschild, 1895) (north-western India)
• G. g. kimurai Murayama, 1982 (northern Thailand)
• G. g. phangana (Okano, 1986) (northern Thailand)

Taxonomy

It may be a synonym of Graphium mandarinus Collins & Morris.^[1] It is however treated as a "good species" by Koiwaya.^[2] A further problem is that the name glycerion is permanently invalid as a junior primary homonym of Papilio glycerion Borkhausen, 1788.

Graphium glycerion is very little known and as with Graphium mandarinus, G. tamerlanus, G. phidias and G. olbrechtsi few specimens exist.

External links

• Butterfly Corner — Images from Naturhistorisches Museum Wien

Notes and References

1. Book: Collins . N. Mark . Morris . Michael G. . Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book . 1985 . . Gland & Cambridge . 978-2-88032-603-6 . Biodiversity Heritage Library.
2. Koiwaya, S. (1993) Descriptions of Three New Genera, Eleven New Species and Seven New Subspecies of Butterflies from China. Studies of Chinese Butterflies.