Papilio sakontala

Papilio sakontala is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus Papilio that is found in India.^[1]

Papilio sakontala
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Genus:	Papilio
Species:	P. sakontala
Binomial name
Papilio sakontala Hewitson, 1864

Description

P. sakontala Hew. (32 c). Male: both wings narrower than in Papilio hipponous and Papilio polytes Forewing with narrow marginal spots and grey discal stripes, without the band of P. hipponous; hindwing with a discal band composed of separated patches more or less strongly dusted with black, in which the 4. and 5. spots are the longest; the reddish submarginal spots of the hindwing beneath are very small, some of them not developed. — A rare North Indian species, of which so far only a few specimens have been found; from Mussourie eastwards to the Naga Hills in Upper Assam. ^[2]

Taxonomy

The taxonomic rank of Papilio sakontala is uncertain. It is a member of the fuscus species-group. The members of this clade are

• Papilio albinus Wallace, 1865
• Papilio diophantus Grose-Smith, 1883
• Papilio fuscus Goeze, 1779
• Papilio hipponous C. & R. Felder, 1862
• Papilio jordani Fruhstorfer, 1906
• Papilio pitmani Elwes & de Nicéville, [1887]
• Papilio prexaspes C. & R. Felder, 1865
• Papilio sakontala Hewitson, 1864