Kokrajhar, August 27, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)- The yellow-crested spangle (Papilio elephenor), a rare butterfly species has been photographed and documented at Phipsu under Ripu Reserved Forest. It is the first ever live photograph taken in the world after the species was first recorded by naturalist CT Bingham in the year 1907. This is the first time a photograph was taken proving that the endangered yellow-crested spangle exists in North-East India. Before this, the only proof of its existence was that of the museum specimens.

Researcher Kushal Choudhury claimed that after a hundred years of near extinction the spaciesman was documented and photographed in the Ripu Reserved Forest on May 22 of the current year.

The endangered butterfly falls in the Black Bodied Swallowtail group under the family Papilionidae. It has the status of Schedule I species under Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and is also included in the International Union for Conservation of Natural Resources (IUCN) Red data book.

Choudhury, who has been studying the status of swallowtail butterflies in the north bank landscape from Sonkosh to Dhanshiri river since 2002, said that apart from its rough distribution nothing is known about its ecology and biology.

The Ripu-Chirang reserve forest is one of the densely populated areas for butterflies where about 300 different species of butterflies are found and of these 10 species are listed in the Wildlife Protection Act, he said.

As per records available at least 62 species of swallowtail butterflies have been found in Assam and out of it half of the species are recorded in the Ripu-Chirang Reserve Forest.

The species requires a unique habitat for its survival and in Ripu-Chirang reserve forest there still prevails such ha-bitat and there is a possibility of getting more individuals in the near future, Choudhury observed. Choudhury informed that another rare butterfly species moores cupid Shijimia moorei was also found in the RF last year. It falls under the Lycaenidae family.

The species is mainly distributed in Japan and South China. Several decades earlier it was recorded in Khasi Hills (Meghalaya), after that it was not reported from anywhere else in India, he stated, adding that it was also included in the Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

However, he said that the Bismuri-Sorphang gravel road which traverses 25 km at a stretch in the RF is place for the butterflies where they congregate to take mineral salts from the soil (mud-puddling) but regrettably hundreds of butterflies are killed every day due to vehicular movement.

Choudhury also said that the RF has a huge potential for the butterflies which needs immediate step for conserva-tion from the authorities.

Divisional Forest Officer (wildlife division), Sonali Ghosh while talking to this correspondent over phone said that it is good news as the rare species yellow-crested spangle to be documented in the area. There is no doubt about the identification of the species as eminent butterfly experts from the Harvard University have confirmed it as yel-low-crested spangle (Papilio elephenor), Ghosh remarked.