Papilio fernandus


Papilio fernandus is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus Papilio that is found in Equatorial Guinea.

Taxonomy

It is a member of the zenobia species group. In the zenobia group the basic upperside wing pattern is black with white or yellowish bands and spots. The underside is brown and basally there is a red area marked with black stripes and spots. In the discal area there is a yellowish band with black stripes and veins. Females resemble Amauris butterflies. Both sexes lack tails.
The clade members are:Papilio cyproeofila Butler, 1868Papilio fernandus Fruhstorfer, 1903Papilio filaprae Suffert, 1904Papilio gallienus Distant, 1879Papilio mechowi Dewitz, 1881Papilio mechowianus Dewitz, 1885Papilio nobicea Suffert, 1904Papilio zenobia Fabricius, 1775

Description

It is very similar to Papilio cyproeofila and the very short description of P. fernandus places it as a local race of P. cyproeofila.