Tuesday 6 October 2015

143. Faunis eumeus (The Large Faun)

Number: 143
Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Amathusiinae
Species: Faunis eumeus (Drury, 1770)
Common name(s): The Large Faun
Photography locations: Tam Dao foothills (Vinh Phuc Prov.), Huu Lien N.R. (Lang Son Prov.)


According to Monastyrskii  & Devyatkin (2016), 5 Faunis species have been recorded in Vietnam viz. F. eumeus (N. and C. Vietnam), F. canens (N. and C.), F. excelsa (N. and C.), F. bicoloratus (C.) and F. centrala (C.).
Centrala and excelsa have Up of both wings grey. The 3 other species have brown Up. 

F. eumeus show large submarginal dots on the Un of both wings. In N. Vietnam, individuals have a broad yellowish subapical band. In other parts of the country, this band is either weakly developed or absent.


This species fly very close to the ground and can be seen both in lowland and mountain forests 
Range: N. & C. Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, N. & N.E. Thailand, S.E. China


Faunis eumeus and F. excelsa side by side (Huu Lien, May 2016)
Both species show a series of large rounded submarginal whitish dots. But Un of eumeus is reddish-brown, whereas Un of excelsa is grey-brown. Moreover, excelsa is larger in average.

Voucher specimen from Tam Dao, upperside 

Same specimen, underside

References:
Butterflies of Vietnam, Vol. 3: Nymphalidae: Danainae; Amathusiinae (A.L. Monastyrskii, 2011)

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