Chiru vs Clouded Apollo

Pantholops hodgsonii compared with Parnassius mnemosyne

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chiru	Clouded Apollo
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Artiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Bovidae (Bovids)	Papilionidae
Genus	Pantholops	Parnassius
Species	Pantholops hodgsonii	Parnassius mnemosyne

Evolutionary Relationship

Chiru and Clouded Apollo share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Chiru

NT — Near Threatened

Clouded Apollo

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chiru	Clouded Apollo
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chiru

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Clouded Apollo

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (33 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Chiru

The Chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii), also known as the Tibetan Antelope, is a bovid endemic to the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent high-altitude grasslands of China, with small populations in India. Males bear long, slender, nearly vertical horns that can exceed 70 centimetres in length, while females are hornless. The species is highly adapted to life at elevations of 3,700–5,500 metres, possessing a dense, fine underfur known as shahtoosh — one of the finest animal fibres in the world — which provided insulation against extreme cold but also made chiru a prime target for illegal poaching. Massive hunting pressure during the late twentieth century for shahtoosh shawl production devastated populations, which fell to as few as 75,000 individuals. Following intensified conservation efforts, trade bans, and anti-poaching patrols in China, numbers have partially recovered, though the species remains Near Threatened. Chiru are highly migratory; females undertake remarkable annual migrations of up to 300 kilometres to reach calving grounds in the Chang Tang plateau. Males typically remain at lower elevations year-round. They graze on grasses, sedges, and forbs, and face ongoing threats from climate change affecting high-altitude pasture productivity and from infrastructure development fragmenting migration corridors.

Clouded Apollo

Clouded Apollo (Parnassius mnemosyne) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.