Rohana parisatis

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Black Prince
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae Genus: Rohana Species: R. parisatis
Binomial name
Rohana parisatis
Synonyms
Apatura parisatis

The Black Prince, Rohana parisatis, is a species of Nymphalid butterfly of the family Nymphalidae found in Asia.

[edit] Description

See glossary for terms used

Male upperside deep velvety black, with one minute snow-white preapical spot on the fore wing; the cilia of both fore and hind wing alternately black and white. Underside dark purplish brown, shaded at base of wings and along costal margin and apex of fore wing with dark ferruginous; both fore and hind wing with two black spots in the discoidal area, followed by an auriform mark and an irregular median band, crossing both wings, of dark brown, markings outwardly obscurely and interruptedly bordered with lilacine; beyond the discal area both wings are shaded transversely with dark brown, succeeded by a subterminal dark line bordered inwardly with purple; fore wing with the white preapical spot larger; hind wing with a black white-centred minute subtornal spot. Antennae black ; head, thorax and abdomen velvety black, dark brown beneath.

Female upperside yellowish brown. Fore and hind wings: basal half shaded and marked with brown, with an angulated transverse broad brown median fascia and a postdiscal transverse brown shading; on the hind wing traversed by a series of obscure dark spots; on the hind wing traversed by a series of obscure dark spots; on the fore wing with three, sometimes four, minute subapical white spots; a transverse series of dark lunular markings on both wings, followed by a subterminal dark line. Underside yellowish brown; markings somewhat similar to those in the male, but more clearly defined. Antennae head, thorax and abdomen light brown, yellowish beneath.

Race camiba, Moore of Southern India and Sri Lanka, is absolutely identical except for the constant minute difference of the fore wing on the upper and under sides ; this has in the male three, in the female five subapical white dots.^[1]

[edit] References

1. ^ Bingham, C. T. 1905. Fauna of British India. Butterflies. Volume 1