Rediscovery of two
rare butterflies Papilio elephenor Doubleday,
1845 and Shijimia moorei Leech,
1889 from proposed Ripu-Chirang Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India
Kushal Choudhury
Department
of Zoology, Science College, Kokrajhar, Assam 783370,
India.
Email: kushal.c8@gmail.com
Date of publication (online): 26 April
2010
Date of publication (print): 26 April
2010
ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893
(print)
Editor: Maan Barua
Manuscript details:
Ms # o2303
Received 03 September 2009
Final received 23 March 2010
Finally accepted 04 April 2010
Citation: Choudhury,
K. (2010). Rediscovery of two rare butterflies Papilio elephenor Doubleday,
1845 and Shijimia moorei Leech,
1889 from proposed Ripu-Chirang Wildlife Sanctuary,
Assam, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa2(4): 831-834.
Copyright: © Kushal Choudhury 2010. Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium
for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate
credit to the authors and the source of publication.
Acknowledgements: I would like to thankKrushnamegh Kunte, Harvard
University, USA for his help in identification of the specimens and valuable
suggestions for writing this note. Sonali Ghosh, DFO, Wildlife Division, Kokrajhar,Hilloljyoti Singha,
Lecturer Assam University, Silchar and Rajen Choudhury, DFO, Holtugaon Division are thanked for their constant support
and encouragement. Special thanks remain for my friends Tribeni Mandal, Kaliprasanna Mandal and Manashi Choudhury for their constant help and moral encouragement.
I also thank the anonymous referees for important suggestions. CEPF and ATREE
are also acknowledged for their funding support for the Swallowtail Butterfly
Status Survey and this finding is one of the outcomes of this project.
Two rare and hitherto unreported butterflies were sighted in the
proposed Ripu-Chirang Wildlife Sanctuary (henceforth
PRCWS) that is part of Manas Biosphere Reserve in
lower Assam, northeastern India. These
butterflies are Yellow-crested Spangle Papilio elephenorDoubleday, 1886 and Moore’s Cupid Shijimia moorei Leech, 1889. Papilio elephenor is
endemic to northeastern India. Past
literature shows that two specimens of Papilio elephenor were collected and sighted from Khasi Hills of Meghalaya and Naga Hills by Mr. Sherwill in 1886 and the female brood was collected by Dr. Standinger in the late 1800’s in Assam province (Wood-Mason
et al. 1886) and it has remained almost unknown since then. Evans (1932) and Wynter-Blyth
(1957) mentioned the distribution of this species from Assam and southern Shan
States in Myanmar. However, the
subspecies from the Shan States (schanus) is now under Papilio dialis, not Papilio elephenor (Talbot, 1939). Thus, Papilio elephenor is endemic to northeastern India. Bingham (1907) and Antram(1924) stated the presence of Papilio elephenor from the hills of upper Assam with its
taxonomic keys. The global distribution
of Shijimia moorei, on
the other hand, is in Japan and southern China. About hundred years ago it was reported from Khasihills of Meghalaya by Swinhoe, but there have been no
records in India since 1896. Evans
(1932) described the presence of this butterfly from Assam and mentioned that
it was very rare.
The rediscovery of these two new butterflies also needs to be
understood in the context of the lack of past surveys in the region - the ‘Wallacean shortfall’ in biogeography which states that
assumptions of population size, extinction and rediscovery are underpinned by
the extant knowledge of global, regional and local distributions of butterfly taxa, much of which is inadequate for tropical regions (Whittaker et al. 2005). Not a single
survey on butterflies has been undertaken in the Ripu-ChirangRF areas till date and although the present author has been observing the
butterflies for the past ten years, systematic study was initiated only in
2007. There is a gap of nearly sixty
years in updating distribution records and hence claiming the rediscovery of
these rare butterflies is justified.
Study area
The butterflies are reported from the PRCWS that extends between
89055’-90030’E & 27015’-26035’N
in western Assam. It is a transitional
zone between Manas Tiger Reserve in the east and Buxa Tiger Reserve in the west. It also has strong habitat linkages with the
Bhutan Biological Conservation Complex as it is located just at the foothills
of Phipsu Wildlife Sanctuary and Royal Manas National Park of Bhutan. It is also part of Ripu-ChirangElephant Reserve and forms the buffer for Manas Tiger
Reserve and Biosphere Reserve. The total
area of PRCWS is 590km2. The
climate is moist tropical (average ambient temp 15-36 0C) with high
rainfall (2000-2500 mm) and humidity 60-87 % levels. The mean sea elevation ranges between 60-150
m and the land has a gentle sloping gradient with a preponderance of rock and
boulder deposits characteristic of Bhabhar region. The forest types have been classified as
ranging from semi-evergreen to moist mixed deciduous with a predominance of SalShorea robusta (Champion
& Seth 1968). The author has already
reported more than 300 species of butterflies (Choudhury2009) and given the high density and visibility of butterflies, the sanctuary
holds immense potential for developing eco-tourism focused around butterfly watching
and conservation.
Detailed description of the species
A. Yellow-crested Spangle Papilio elephenor Doubleday, 1845
0n 05 May 2009, around 1330hr, I observed and
photographed a black-bodied swallowtail mud puddlingon a forest trail along with few other black-bodied swallowtail butterflies of Singimajuli Block (26044’05.6”N & 90008’25.2”E)
(Image 1) under RCRF. The weather was
dull and cloudy when the butterfly was first spotted sitting on a shrub (Clerodendrum) at the height of about 1.5m
from the ground. It was basking and on
approaching nearer, it suddenly dropped down on wet soil. Here it began to probe a portion of cattle
excrete with its proboscis for extracting minerals etc. It was photographed at that moment and later
it was identified with the references of Wood-Mason et al. (1886), Bingham
(1907), Antram (1924), Evans (1932), Talbot (1939),
Winter-Blyth (1957) and K. Kunte (pers. comm.) as the
Yellow-crested Spangle.
Morphology: The individual was
identified as a male due to the presence of abdominal claspers. The upper side of the fore-wing was dull
black with brilliant blue scales that formed a pattern of cellular and inter-nervular streaks. Anal red marks on the hind-wing above were larger, rounded, marginal and included a small black spot dusted with violet
scales. The underside of the fore-wing
was found to be blackish-grey with a black stripe and the underside of the hind
wing had a series of red marginal crescents sprinkled with violet scales that
were very prominent. The head portion
was yellow while the sides of the abdomen were buff in color (Image 2).
Habitat: The butterfly was
sighted on a forest track made of sand and gravel. The habitat predominantly comprised evergreen
trees and shrubs mainly of species such as (Lagerstroemia parviflora, L. speciosa, Terminalia bellerica, Cinnamomum tamala, Bauhinia purpurea, Clerodendron,Leea, Premna, Mussaenda, Blumera etc.). The forest type can however generally be
classified as moist mixed deciduous with a predominance of Sal Shorea robustatrees. Heavy incidence of grazing and
illegal felling (selective removal of trees with timber values) was observed in
most of the region. Soil is lateritic to
sandy loam. PhipsuRiver and its tributaries are the major sources of water.
Similarities and dissimilarities between Yellow-crested Spangle
and Spangle Papilio protenor:
Similarities: Both the spangles are
similar in their wing span i.e. 100-130 mm without tails. The upper side of both the wings is dusted
with blue scales with a prominent black-centered red spot in tornus of hind wing. Both the species have cellular and
inter-nervular streaks
Dissimilarities: Papilio elephenor is easily
distinguish from P. protenor by the yellow marking on the
head and buff colour on the side of the abdomen. The hind wing is much narrower and the under side has a series of red marginal crescents sprinkled
with violet scales; the crescents form a conspicuous patch at tornal angle upto the dorsum
bearing two black spots whereas in P. protenor the red marginal crescent is confined to the tornus and inter space 6-8. Head and abdomen are black like other black-bodied swallowtails.
Behaviour: Like other swallowtails it also basks by opening its wings by
approximately 1800. It
vibrates its wings when threatened, but otherwise keeps its wings closed. Flight is leisurely but rapid when
alarmed. The species I observed was a
male individual and he mud-puddled for about 18
minutes in the same spot.
B. Moore’s Cupid Shijimia mooreiLeech, 1889
Three individuals of this butterfly were spotted on a sunny day at
around 1200hr when they were mud-puddling on a damp
area near the forest road along with few other lycaenidsand skippers. The forest road runs throughUltapani Block (26048’02.52”N & 90015’01.45”E)
(Image 3) under Chirang Reserve Forest of Haltugaon Forest Division in Assam. Individuals were photographed and were later
identified as Shijimia mooreiin consultation with K. Kunte (pers. comm.) and by
cross-referencing with Evans (1932), Varshney (1997)
and Winter-Blyth (1957).
Morphology: The upper portion of the wings are dark brown. Underneath, both the wings are white in colour with black markings arranged irregularly (Image 4).
Two unequal black spots are present on the base of the hind wings with slightly
larger prominent black spots near the costa. There is
a dark thin border line on both the wings without having a tail in the hind
wing.
Habitat: The butterfly was
sighted near the damp patches on a motorable forest
road made of sand and gravel. The
habitat predominantly comprised deciduous trees and shrubs mainly of species
such as (Michelia champaca, Terminalia belerica, Sterculia villosa, Imperata spp., Clerodendron spp., Litsea spp. etc.). Soil is lateritic to
sandy loam. LaopaniRiver and their tributaries are the major sources of water.
Similarities and dissimilarities between Moore’s Cupid and Common Hedgeblue Acytolepis puspa:
Similarities: The underside of
both the wings of each species have white ground colourand the black spots of the hind wings are irregular and of unequal size. Hind wings tailless and orange marking on thetornus absent
Dissimilarities: In S.mooreithe upper side of both the wings is dark brown whereas in Common Hedgeblue Acytolepis puspa it is glossy pale blue.
Behaviour: The species were observed to undertake mud-puddlingfor prolonged periods (for over two and half hours) if they were not
disturbed. During this time they kept
their wings closed and it is likely that their preferred habitat was the high
litter concentrated areas near mud-puddlingsites. It was observed mud-puddling on cloudy as well as on sunny days. I have observed this behaviourin certain nymphalids such as Tanaecia lepideaand Tanaecia juliln as
well. The butterfly is tiny and its
flight is very fast. The species was
sighted (3-4 individuals) at the same spot throughout the monsoon period but it
disappeared just before the onset of winter in October. No individual was spotted in subsequent
years.
Discussion and Conservation Implications
Butterflies and particularly swallowtails have played an important
role in our understanding of some of the fundamental evolutionary processes
such as principles of genetic variation and sexual dimorphism. These in turn have aided our understanding of
other cryptic polymorphisms such as human blood groups thereby clearly
indicating the need to conserve these species for the greater benefit of mankind
(New & Collins 1991).
Northeastern India harbours at least 62
species of swallowtail (papillionid) butterflies
(Evans 1932) and very few reports could be found that describe their present
day status and threat assessments (Collins & Morris 1985; New & Collins
1991; Gupta & Mandal 2005). The author did not have access to the
complete reports written by these previous authors and therefore providing a
complete description of their views is not possible. Similarly the online search of red list
report for threatened species (IUCN 2009) did not return details for Papilio elephenorand Shijia moorei. Nevertheless, the summary chapters of all the
previous reports clearly indicate that the precise conservation status of
several of the species including the Yellow-crested Spangle and Moore’s Cupid
is unknown in the Indian subcontinent.
The ongoing survey and reporting by the present author has
therefore contributed towards future red list assessment in this region. It has also indicated the need to undertake
detailed surveys including behavioural studies on
least known butterflies in areas such as PRCWS that have been hitherto unsurveyed. The
proposal to declare Ripu-Chirang as a Wildlife
Sanctuary that will federally protect its biodiversity under the highest
wildlife law in India has been pending for 20 years (Rodgers & Panwar 1988). The
lack of reliable biodiversity information combined with insurgency and lack of
political will has also resulted in keeping the issue on a backburner for some
time. As a consequence to this, other
issues such as settlement of forest rights for tribalsand forest dwellers, encroachment and extraction of forest produce as a source
of legal and illegal income is gaining momentum. The rediscovery of two rare butterflies will
perhaps refocus the need to come up with a species-based approach to wildlife
conservation in this region.
It also opens up the opportunity for attracting more research and
funding in lesser known taxa such as butterflies in
remote regions of northeast India. Butterfly watching is an important component of eco-tourism worldwide
where butterfly ranching has been encouraged thereby giving a legitimate source
of income to local communities on a sustainable basis. Whether rare butterflies such as Papilio elephenorand Shijimia mooeri can be
ranched and whether it will help in enhancing community conservation is a
matter of research that can be an outcome of this study. The author expects to gather further
ecological information on these butterflies in the near future and further
reiterates the need to conserve and bring the forests of Ripu-Chirangunder a protected area network.
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