MORPHOLOGY

External characteristics

Male
Forewing length (mm): 46-60. Wingspan (mm): 77-101.
Forewings: Upperside dark brown, veins inconspicuously darker, ill-defined pale brownish or violet submarginal spots from tornus into space 2 or 3; underside similar. Hindwings crenulate, strong spatulate tail at end of vein 4; upperside dark brown with band of large white spots separated by dark veins from hind margin to front margin running just beyond end cell; underside, in addition to the white band there are orange submarginal lunules and some blue spotting outside the white band.

Female
Forewing length (mm): 48-68. Wingspan (mm):80-111.
As male, but more extensively spotted.

Subspecies and variation

The extreme variation in size is due to a single subspecies, ssp. lunifer, of the Talaud Islands, the two other subspecies in the study area, ssp. bazilanus (Basilan, Palawan, W Mindanao) and ssp. hipponous (rest of Philippines) having a wing length of up to 86 mm in male and 88 mm in female.

Similar species

Unmistakable.

_{source: Jan Moonen, peronal communication 2020}