Golden Birdwing- India's largest butterfly

Golden Birdwing

(Troides aeacus)

The Golden Birdwing is a large tropical butterfly belonging to the swallowtail family.

Conservation status: Vulnerable 

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia 

Phylum:   Arthropoda

Class:      Insecta

Order:      Lepidoptera 

Family:    Papilionidae

Genus:    Troides

Species:  T. aeacus

                         Caterpillar of golden birdwing

It has a wingspan of reaching about 15 - 16cm (5.9 - 6.3in). In the male, the forewings are black, with veins bordered by whitish colour, while the hindwings are bright yellow. The female are double the size of the males and have dark brown or black wing. They mainly feed on Aristolochia and Thottea species of plants.

   

Wingspan of female: 194mm (19.4cm)

Wingspan of male:     106mm (10.6cm)

 

It is the largest butterfly species found  in  the Indian Subcontinent. It is found in northern India, Nepal, Manmar (Burma), China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Taiwan, Cambodia, peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia.

        Largest specimen of Golden Birdwing 

It has a wingspan of 194mm (19.4cm). The specimen is present in Butterfly Research Centre at Bhimtal, Uttarakhand, India.

Ganges Shark

Ganges Shark 

(Glyphis gangeticus)

The Ganges Shark is a critically endangered species of requiem shark found in the Ganga river and the Brahmaputra river of India and Bangladesh.

Conservation status: Critically Endangered 

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia 

Phylum:   Chordata 

Class:      Chondrichthyes

Order:      Carcharhinidae

Genus:    Glyphis

Species: Glyphis gangeticus 

It's size is estimated about 178cm (70in) to 204cm (80in). It is known to inhabit only in freshwater, inshore marine of the Ganga-Hooghly river system. They are viviporous.

It is one of 20 sharks on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List of endangered shark species. The species is currently classified as critically endangered. They are vulnerable to habitat changes and pollution. It is also believed to be part of the Asian shark fin trade. The species had last found at a Mumbai fosh market in 2016.