American Society of Hirudotherapy

Checklist of Yunnan Papilionidae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) with nomenclatural notes and descriptions of new subspecies

Research article published in Zootaxa (2023)

Last Updated: June 18, 2026Reviewed by: ASH Editorial Board
Research article — evidence reviewArticle reference
Evidence: Preclinical (animal)Clinical TrialsHu SJ et al. · Zootaxa, 2023

Abstract

A checklist of the Papilionidae of Yunnan is presented, with nomenclatural and taxonomic changes made. In the nomenclatural section, the junior homonym Papilio bootes nigricans Rothschild, 1895 is replaced by Papilio bootes nigricauda Lamas & Cotton nom. nov., Chilasa (Cadugoides) epycides muhabbet Koak, 2005 is synonymised with Papilio epycides camilla Rousseau-Decelle, 1947 syn. nov., Graphium cloanthus nyghmat Koak & Kemal, 2000 is placed as a junior objective synonym syn. nov. of Graphium cloanthus clymenus (Leech, 1893), and Papilio astorion Westwood, 1842 is shown to have priority over Papilio varuna White, 1842, thus the valid species name is Atrophaneura astorion (Westwood, 1842) comb. nov. In the main checklist, five new subspecies are described: Parnassius cephalus haba Hu & Cotton ssp. nov., Lamproptera curius hsinningae Hu, Zhang & Cotton ssp. nov., Lamproptera curius yangtzeanus Hu & Cotton ssp. nov., Graphium macareus vadimi Cotton & Hu ssp. nov., and Papilio krishna benyongi Hu & Cotton ssp. nov. The First Reviser Principle under the ICZN Code is invoked to solve four taxonomic problems, and 18 names are synonymised with explanations, notably Papilio machaon venchuanus Moonen, 1984 syn. nov., which is synonymised with Papilio machaon schantungensis Eller, 1936. Byasa genestieri (Oberthr, 1918) stat. nov. is separated from Byasa latreillei (Donovan, 1826), and Papilio everesti Riley, 1927 stat. nov. and P. verityi Fruhstorfer, 1907 stat. nov. are separated from Papilio machaon Linnaeus, 1758 as species. Taxa that require further confirmation of their presence in Yunnan and those that do not occur in Yunnan are enumerated.

Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.

Publication typeJournal Article
Indexed MeSH termsAnimalsLepidopteraChinaButterfliesLeeches

Summary

A checklist of the Papilionidae of Yunnan is presented, with nomenclatural and taxonomic changes made.

Why This Matters for Hirudotherapy

This article presents a taxonomic checklist of the Papilionidae of Yunnan, including nomenclatural revisions, new synonymies, replacement names for junior homonyms, applications of the First Reviser Principle, and descriptions of five new subspecies. The word 'Leech' appears in this article only as a taxonomic authority citation — for example, 'Graphium cloanthus clymenus (Leech, 1893)' — denoting the author of a species-group name, not the annelid worm. This study has no relevance to hirudotherapy, the leech secretome, leech-derived bioactive compounds, or any aspect of the ASH research domain. The apparent connection to leeches is purely a coincidence of taxonomic nomenclature.

Citation

Checklist of Yunnan Papilionidae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) with nomenclatural notes and descriptions of new subspecies.

Hu SJ et al. · Zootaxa, 2023

DOI

Added to ASH library: May 27, 2026 · Site last updated: June 18, 2026

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