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Trogonoptera brookiana mollumar d’Abrera, Doggett & Parker, 1976 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), a subspecies or a synonym?

The birdwing butterfly Trogonoptera brookiana (Wallace, 1855) is a well-known conservation icon, yet questions remain about the infraspecific status of regional populations. The eastern Peninsular Malaysian population has been described as the subspecies mollumar d’Abrera, Doggett & Parker, 1976...

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Main Authors: Phon, Chooi Khim, Kirton, Laurence G., Norma-Rashid, Yusoff
Format: Article
Published: Consortium of European Natural History Museums 2019
Subjects:
Q Science (General)
QH Natural history
Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/23754/
https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2019.544
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spelling my.um.eprints.237542020-02-12T02:04:14Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/23754/ Trogonoptera brookiana mollumar d’Abrera, Doggett & Parker, 1976 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), a subspecies or a synonym? Phon, Chooi Khim Kirton, Laurence G. Norma-Rashid, Yusoff Q Science (General) QH Natural history The birdwing butterfly Trogonoptera brookiana (Wallace, 1855) is a well-known conservation icon, yet questions remain about the infraspecific status of regional populations. The eastern Peninsular Malaysian population has been described as the subspecies mollumar d’Abrera, Doggett & Parker, 1976, but its status as a subspecies distinguishable from the taxon trogon (Vollenhoven, 1860) in Sumatra has been disputed. Wing characters and measurements of specimens from the two regions were therefore examined quantitatively using discriminant function and correspondence analyses. Eastern Peninsular specimens differ on average from Sumatran specimens in having more extensive green, especially in the female. This is reflected in many of the measurements and characters analysed. Females from the Peninsula also have a characteristically blacker upperside ground colour in which the outer areas of both wings barely contrast with the black veins and forewing cell. The extent of these differences enables a reliable differentiation of the females of both regions. The magnitude and consistency of differences are comparable to that between other subspecies of undisputed status. Behavioural differences also exist. The name mollumar therefore merits subspecific status. In addition, we consider the male forms walshi Haugum & Low, 1982 and walshoides Haugum & Low, 1982 to be chemically discoloured specimens of trogon rather than biological forms. © 2019, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. All rights reserved. Consortium of European Natural History Museums 2019 Article PeerReviewed Phon, Chooi Khim and Kirton, Laurence G. and Norma-Rashid, Yusoff (2019) Trogonoptera brookiana mollumar d’Abrera, Doggett & Parker, 1976 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), a subspecies or a synonym? European Journal of Taxonomy (544). pp. 1-25. ISSN 2118-9773 https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2019.544 doi:10.5852/ejt.2019.544
institution Universiti Malaya
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Research Repository
url_provider http://eprints.um.edu.my/
topic Q Science (General)
QH Natural history
spellingShingle Q Science (General)
QH Natural history
Phon, Chooi Khim
Kirton, Laurence G.
Norma-Rashid, Yusoff
Trogonoptera brookiana mollumar d’Abrera, Doggett & Parker, 1976 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), a subspecies or a synonym?
description The birdwing butterfly Trogonoptera brookiana (Wallace, 1855) is a well-known conservation icon, yet questions remain about the infraspecific status of regional populations. The eastern Peninsular Malaysian population has been described as the subspecies mollumar d’Abrera, Doggett & Parker, 1976, but its status as a subspecies distinguishable from the taxon trogon (Vollenhoven, 1860) in Sumatra has been disputed. Wing characters and measurements of specimens from the two regions were therefore examined quantitatively using discriminant function and correspondence analyses. Eastern Peninsular specimens differ on average from Sumatran specimens in having more extensive green, especially in the female. This is reflected in many of the measurements and characters analysed. Females from the Peninsula also have a characteristically blacker upperside ground colour in which the outer areas of both wings barely contrast with the black veins and forewing cell. The extent of these differences enables a reliable differentiation of the females of both regions. The magnitude and consistency of differences are comparable to that between other subspecies of undisputed status. Behavioural differences also exist. The name mollumar therefore merits subspecific status. In addition, we consider the male forms walshi Haugum & Low, 1982 and walshoides Haugum & Low, 1982 to be chemically discoloured specimens of trogon rather than biological forms. © 2019, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. All rights reserved.
format Article
author Phon, Chooi Khim
Kirton, Laurence G.
Norma-Rashid, Yusoff
author_facet Phon, Chooi Khim
Kirton, Laurence G.
Norma-Rashid, Yusoff
author_sort Phon, Chooi Khim
title Trogonoptera brookiana mollumar d’Abrera, Doggett & Parker, 1976 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), a subspecies or a synonym?
title_short Trogonoptera brookiana mollumar d’Abrera, Doggett & Parker, 1976 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), a subspecies or a synonym?
title_full Trogonoptera brookiana mollumar d’Abrera, Doggett & Parker, 1976 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), a subspecies or a synonym?
title_fullStr Trogonoptera brookiana mollumar d’Abrera, Doggett & Parker, 1976 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), a subspecies or a synonym?
title_full_unstemmed Trogonoptera brookiana mollumar d’Abrera, Doggett & Parker, 1976 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), a subspecies or a synonym?
title_sort trogonoptera brookiana mollumar d’abrera, doggett & parker, 1976 (lepidoptera: papilionidae), a subspecies or a synonym?
publisher Consortium of European Natural History Museums
publishDate 2019
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/23754/
https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2019.544
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score 13.211869

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