- Danaus affinis
-
Malay Tiger 
Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae Tribe: Danaini Genus: Danaus Species: D. affinis Binomial name Danaus affinis
Fabricius, 1775
Swamp Tiger, Bribie Island, SE Queensland, Australia
The Malay Tiger (Danaus affinis) is a butterfly found in tropical Asia. It belongs to the "Crows and Tigers", that is, the danaine group of the Brush-footed butterflies family.
This is a highly variable species. In its range, which stretches from Thailand to the Philippines and southwards through Indonesia to Melanesia and northeastern Australia, it has at least around 30, possibly many more subspecies (Evans 1932, Smith et al. 2005). Its closest relative is the White Tiger, Danaus melanippus (Smith et al. 2005).
References
- Evans, W.H. (1932): The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd edition). Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.
- Smith, David A. S.; Lushai, Gugs & Allen, John A. (2005): A classification of Danaus butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) based upon data from morphology and DNA. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 144(2): 191–212. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00169.x (HTML abstract)
See also
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