Are the Yellow and Red Marked Club-Tail <i>Losaria coon</i> the Same Species?

oleh: Zhen-Bang Xu, Yun-Yu Wang, Fabien L. Condamine, Adam M. Cotton, Shao-Ji Hu

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-06-01

Deskripsi

<i>Losaria coon</i> (Fabricius, 1793) is currently comprised of ten subspecies, which were originally described under two names, <i>Papilio coon</i> and <i>P. doubledayi</i> before 1909, when they were combined as one species. The main difference between them is the colour of abdomen and hindwing subterminal spots—yellow in <i>coon</i> and red in <i>doubledayi</i>. Wing morphology, male and female genitalia, and molecular evidence (DNA barcodes) were analysed for multiple subspecies of <i>L. coon</i> and three other <i>Losaria</i> species—<i>rhodifer</i>, <i>neptunus</i>, and <i>palu</i>. Our molecular data support the separation of <i>L. coon</i> and <i>L. doubledayi</i> <b>stat. rev.</b> as two distinct species, with <i>L. rhodifer</i> positioned between them in phylogenetic analyses. Wing morphology and genitalic structures also confirm the molecular conclusions. Our findings divide <i>L. coon</i> into two species occupying different geographic ranges: with <i>L. coon</i> restricted to southern Sumatra, Java, and Bawean Island, while <i>L. doubledayi</i> occurs widely in regions from North India to northern Sumatra, including Hainan and Nicobar Islands. Hence, future conservation efforts must reassess the status and threat factors of the two species to form updated strategies.