Battus polydamas antiquus

Battus polydamas antiquus (males)

Battus polydamas antiquus is an extinct subspecies of Battus polydamas from the family of Swallowtail butterfly. It has been known only from a drawing of the British entomologist Dru Drury from 1770. The distribution area was confined to the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Drury's illustration shows a male. The basic color of the front and hind wings is black. Runs over the top of the front wing and the basal region between the Postdiskalregion a series of eight well-defined green spots. The top four spots are small. Sixth, is the largest, is shorter than its distance to the outer edge. The patch series on top of the rear wing is narrower and the black border area is approximately one-third wider than the subspecies Battus polydamas thyamus of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The anal vein is same as that of Battus polydamas thyamus. The bottom of the front wing shows three small dots, which extend from the fourth to the second Subkostalader. On the underside of the hind wings a series of strong brick-red spots can be seen in the Analwinkel Submarginalregion. The schwarzumrandete edge of wing is characterized by metallic stains.