MORPHOLOGY

External characteristics

Male
Forewing length (mm): 59-65. Wingspan (mm): 100-116.
Forewings: Upperside black, densely and finely speckled with green scales all over the wing; underside dark brown, golden yellow speckling (if present) only along costal margin, band of broadening pale, gray-white spots (two per internervular space) from tornus to costa near apex, inner margin reaching costa slightly beyond middle of latter. Hindwings crenulate with strong spatulate tail at end of vein 4; upperside black, finely speckled with green scales, almost one third of wing covered by bluish green patch that stretches from inner margin above submarginal spot in space 1b to vein 7 or just beyond, widest in space 5 leaving a relatively narrow black marginal area, inner margin of patch almost straight from vein 2 to 7, well developed circular, red, submarginal spot in space 1b, green crescentic submarginal spots in spaces 2 to 4, as higher concentrations of green scales without sharp outline; underside dark brown, finely speckled with golden yellow scales in basal 2/3, reddish submarginal markings, circular in spaces 1b and 2, crescentic in spaces 3 to 7, more or less capped by violet scales.

Female
Similar.

Subspecies and variation

Restricted to Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Palawan, where the species forms local subspecies: ssp. discordia, ssp. karna, ssp. carnatus and ssp. irawana, respectively.

Similar species

The only species that comes close is P. paris arjuna, which partly overlaps in distribution. P. paris arjuna is, however, much larger (wingspan 75-85 mm), the large greenish/turquoise patch on the hindwing is differently shaped with a strongly curved margin (instead of the almost straight inner margin in P. karna) and much lesser developed submarginal spots on the upperside of the hindwing.

_{source: Jan Moonen, peronal communication 2020}