Graphium rileyi is a rare and obscure species about which very little is known. Named in 1950, it's not on every list of butterfly species. It is least uncommon in Guinea, also found in Cote d'Ivoire, recorded as very rare in Ghana and Liberia. If scientists continue to count rileyi as a species, African students have a golden opportunity to become famous by learning about it. It may be reclassified as a subspecies or variation, or found to be a hybrid between other Graphiums, probably ucalegonides or fulleri.
As a result this butterfly is so rare that I couldn't even find a free photo of it.
It is in the group of tailless, or "swordless," Graphiums that are sometimes called Ladies, and it is sometimes called the Blotched Lady. Like "White" and "Red," "Blotched" describes the wings--in a relative way. Actually all the Ladies have a resemblance to one another.
Most search results for this species consist of lists on which the name is mentioned. Carcasses are not advertised for sale. Although several scientific papers mention this species, most merely confirm that it was found in a certain place.
It is regarded as somewhat endangered simply because it's rare, though the IUCN Red List of endangered swallowtails doesn't even acknowledge this species' existence.
A scant entry for Graphium rileyi is found on pages 101-102 of
It contains the only photos of this species a Google search yielded. The wings of the museum piece shown were brown and white, darker above than below.
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