106 nnol'ALoCKUA MALAYANA. 



-1. Charaxes athamas, rar. samatha. (Tab. XIII., tig. 8 <? .) 



l\q,iU,> Athamas, Dniry, 111. Ex. Eut. i. t. 2, f. 4 1 1773) ; Cram. Pap. Ex. i. t. 89, C, D (1779). 



Charaxes samatlui, Moore, Proc. Zoul. Soc. 1878, p. 831. 



FAilepis samatha, Moore, Lep. Ceyl. i. p. 29, t. 14, f. 2, a, h (1881). 



Male and Female. Wings above dark chocolate-brown ; both wings crossed by a broad pale greenish 

 yellow fascia, commencing on anterior wing beneath the first median nervule, where it is narrowest 

 on that icinii, and terminating narrowly and subacutely at the middle of the third median nervule of the 

 posterior wing ; anterior wings with a pale greenish subapical rounded spot placed between the discoidal 

 nervules (in some specimens there is a second and smaller white spot), and posterior wings with a 

 submarginal series of whitish spots placed between the nervules (two distiucth' surrounded with black 

 between the third median nervule and submedian nervure), and a narrow pale brownish marginal line. Wings 

 beneath olive-brown, with bright pink reflections ; both wings crossed by a Ijroail pale shining, greenish 

 fascia (equivalent to the one on the upper surface), inwardly margined by a narrow castaneous fascia 

 with blackish borders ; on anterior wings this fascia is margined with castaneous above, and is outwardly 

 narrowly margined with the same colour, which is followed by a series of sublunulate spots denoted 

 b}' their fuscous margins, placed between the nervules, the hindmost of which, situate between the third 

 median nervule and submedian nervure, is largest and much suffused with black ; a small black dot in cell, 

 and the pale greenish spot between the discoidal nervules as above, but inwardly margined with black. 

 Posterior wings with the fascia outwardly margined as on anterior wings, but with the accompanying spots 

 less regular; these consist of a small black spot at costa, an irregular black patch beneath the costal 

 nervure enclosing a castaneous spot, a castaneous spot above the lower subcostal nervule, and a smaller 

 one beneath it, an irregular black streak beneath the discoidal nervule, and a lunulate black spot on 

 each side of the second median nervule : these are preceded by shining greyish streaks ; a castaneous spot 

 more or less surrounded with black near anal angle, preceded by a blackish transverse line ; a submarginal 

 series of small fuscous spots more or less surrounded with greyish white placed between the nervules, 

 two being situate at anal angle between the third median nervule and submedian nervure ; these spots 

 are followed by pale brownish, the extreme margin being fuscous. Body and legs more or less coueolorous 

 with wings. 



Exp. wings, (? (j3 to G5 millim. ; 5 * 78 millim. 



HAB.t— N.E. India (Brit. Mus.) — Ceylon (coll. Moore). — Burma.— Upper Tenasserim (.Brit. Mus.) — 

 Malay Peninsula; Province Wellesley (coll. Dist.). 



I incline to the opinion tliat this form shoukl be considered a variety of C. athamas. 

 Mr. Moore, in his description of C. sainatlia,l describes it as having the "yellow band on both 

 wings one-third less in width" than in " Indian examples of C. rt?/tam«s," and he afterwards 

 figures his species in the ' Lepidoptera of Ceylon.' Now if we compare these figures with that of 

 Drury, § who originally described and figured C. athamas, instead of finding the yellow baud of 

 C. samatha "less in width" than in Drury's species, it is, on the contrary, always as broad, and 

 at its apices on both wings absolutchj hruadcr. \\ There therefore only remains its somewhat 



* As figured iu Moore'.s Lep. Ceyl. i. t. 14, f. 2 a. 



\ It is certain that the range of this variety is much more extensive than the following localities indicate ; but owiu" 

 10 tlie nnpossibihty of knowmg whether some authors who refer to C. athamas mean that species (typical) or its presence 

 variety, it is impossible to give then- habitats on the present occasion, when the var. Samatha, Moore, is alone referred to. 



I Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 831. § III. Ex. Eut. i. t. % f. 4. 



II There is a probable explanation of this discrepancy, as Jlr. Moore (well known as our highest authority on Indian 

 Lepidoptera) expressly relers to Indian examples of C. athamas, whilst Drury described his species as from China. 



