goliath

2. Ssp. goliath Oberthür, 1888¹⁶⁾ [♀] [♂: (Joicey & Talbot, 1917) ¹²⁾]

(Distribution) [Map 51]

INDONESIA [Irian Jaya] Waigeo Is., Sayang Is. (?).

(Episodes of discovery and original description)

Oberthür (1888) first described it as a variant of species arruana (now a subspecies of O. priamus) based on a single ♀, but later re-published it as an independent species in 1894. The place, date, and collector of the holotype are not given in the original description, but the preface to the 1894 paper states that “This specimen was collected on an island near New Guinea by L. Laglaize, who was sent by the late A. Depuiset, and Depuiset stated that it was from Waigeo Island. However, we do not know exactly where it came from because it passed through the hands of many people before we got it. On the other hand, Talbot (1916) described a ♂ from Pelau, in the collection of the Tring Museum, which may or may not belong to this subspecies. The official description of the ♂ was made by Joicey and Talbot (1917) the following year, but this specimen was collected by the Pratt brothers on Waigeo Island in April and May 1915. The species is named after the Philistine giant Goliath, who was killed by the shepherd David.

(Characteristics)

Since its first discovery, there were only a few specimens, so its habitat on the island had been questioned, but it was rediscovered in 2003., and its habit on the island was confirmed.

(Spotted pattern)

♂: The cubital band on FW is darkly shaded by black scales. The green discal spots on HW are often small and many individuals have two in number (other subspecies have three.)

♀: FW cell-spot and discal spots are extended and conspicuous white, while submarginal spots are reduced. HW pale band is darkly covered with black scales, and dark discal spots are large. The submarginal area is dirty ochre, but light yellow on underside. The abdomen is grayish, and its underside is yellow, and without body hairs.