Charaxes solon echo
Black Rajah
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Subfamily: | Charaxinae |
Genus | Charaxes |
Species: | solon |
Subspecies: | echo |
Common Name: | Black Rajah |
Life History: | incomplete |
Extant in countries: | •Singapore |
Description
The upperside of the butterfly is dark brown, with a yellow discal band stretching from the forewings to the hindwings. The hindwings possess a pair of equally-sized tails at veins 2 and 4.
Habitat & Habits
The species is obviously very rare in Singapore, as it has not made its appearance until now, despite the very frequent butterfly watching outings over the past 4 years.
Other Observations
This appears to be the sole representative of the genus Charaxes in Singapore. The earlier recorded species, Charaxes bernadus crepax (The Tawny Rajah), has not been seen in recent years, and is believed to be extinct in the wild. Charaxes solon echo was believed to have been observed many years ago, but no physical evidence of the species was available until now, where a freshly-hatched male specimen was located in the Central Catchment Nature Reserves. The species is thus recorded as a new discovery in Singapore.
Early Stages
To be detailed.
Further Reading
To be detailed.