MORPHOLOGY

External characteristics

Male
Forewing length (mm): 75. Wingspan (mm): 125.
Forewings: Elongate with rounded (convex) outer margin). Upperside forewing black with two green areas, leaving a black band from base to outer margin and along the margins; underside forewing green passing into yellow towards outer margin and apex; margins and veins outlined in black, large black patch just under apex. Hindwings Hindwing narrow, with straight outer margin, tornus extended into a long fine tail. Upperside hindwing yellow with green veins and green along inner and outer margins, but anal area black; underside hindwing as upperside, but anal area green.

Female
Forewing length (mm): 100. Wingspan (mm):170.
Forewing blackish brown with a more or less complete series of submarginal and median spots, as well as a spot in upper part of cell, but extent of spots variable. Hindwing blackish brown in the basal third and along wavy outer margin, rest of wing cream-colored changing into dirty yellow towards the outer margin.

Subspecies and variation

Five subspecies are recognized (Parsons, 1999). To be further explained

Similar species

Female O. paradisea are very much like the female of O. chimaera, but the spots, particularly in the cell and near the apex, are much bigger. Male can only be mistaken for O. meridionalis, but apart from being larger (on average) it is easily recognized by the wing shape of both forewing and hindwing, as described above.

_{source: Jan Moonen, peronal communication 2020}