Identity of Euploea orontobates Fruhstorfer, 1910 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), a milkweed butterfly from Thailand and Vietnam

Identity of Euploea orontobates Fruhstorfer, 1910 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), a milkweed butterfly from Thailand and Vietnam

Zootaxa (2009) Vol. 1991, 43-50
A.L. MONASTYRSKII(1) & R.I. VANE-WRIGHT(2) 1Vietnam-Russia Research Tropical Centre 2Department of Entomology, the Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK; & Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent

Euploea orontobates Fruhstorfer, 1910, described from south-eastern Thailand (Si Racha district), is demonstrated to be a senior synonym of Euploea conbuom Saito & Inayoshi, 2006, from southern Central Vietnam. The relationships and biogeography of this rare butterfly are discussed, and presented together with comments on the principal mimicry complex among the Euploea species of Indochina.

Keywords: Danainae, Euploea orontobates, Euploea conbuom, synonymy, relationships, Thailand, Vietnam, Sundaland, endemism, biogeography