Papilio gallienus, the narrow-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the central part of the Republic of the Congo.
Taxonomy Papilio gallienus is very similar to Papilio mechowi but males of gallienus have a distinct androconial patch and the discal spots of the forewings have diffuse edges. The outer edge of the forewing discal band is straighter in gallienus. Both are members 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, 1868 Papilio fernandus Fruhstorfer, 1903 Papilio filaprae Suffert, 1904 Papilio gallienus Distant, 1879 Papilio mechowi Dewitz, 1881 Papilio mechowianus Dewitz, 1885 Papilio nobicea Suffert, 1904 Papilio zenobia Fabricius, 1775
Description It is very similar to Papilio cyproeofila but has cream-yellow rather than cream-white bands, and the hindwing band is much narrower than in P. cyproeofila and curved on the inner edge.Larsen, Torben B, 2005 Butterflies of West Africa. Apollo Books. Steenstrup Apollo Books, Stenstrup, Denmark
References
External links Butterfly Corner Images from Naturhistorisches Museum Wien