Ornithoptera goliath

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Papilionidae

'The Papilionidae belong to the Superfamily Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Swallowtails are worldwide in distribution and comprise approximately 560 species. They are richest in the tropics, and their brilliant colors make them favorites of butterfly enthusiasts. Many swallowtail species, especially in the tropics, mimic other butterflies that are distasteful, while others are distasteful and cause birds and other vertebrate predators to regurgitate. Swallowtail adults are medium to large and may or may not have tails, while parnassian adults are medium, tailless, and have translucent wings . All adult parnassians and swallowtails have three pairs of walking legs , and adults of all species visit flowers for nectar.

'[1]

Subfamily Papilioninae

Swallowtails are members of the Family Papilionidae. They comprise about 560 species, have a worldwide distribution, and are richest in the tropics. Many are brilliantly colored and are favorites of butterfly enthusiasts. Many species, especially those in the tropics, mimic other butterflies that are distasteful, while others are distasteful and cause birds and other vertebrate predators to regurgitate. Adults are medium to large, may or may not have tails, and have three pairs of walking legs . Adults of all species visit flowers for nectar. Males of most species patrol for mates, while males of one group (Black, Old World, Anise, and Indra Swallowtails) perch on hilltops or ridges instead of patrolling . Swallowtails lay globular eggs and overwinter as pupae. Some species spend more than one year in the pupal stage, likely to survive drought years when little caterpillar food is available. In arid areas, the Black, Anise, and Indra Swallowtails often display this strategy.

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,035 meters (0 to 6,677 feet).[2]

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Schoenbergia goliath huebneri Rumbucher

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 25-Jan-2007

Similar Species

Members of the genus Ornithoptera

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 8 species and subspecies in this genus:

O. alexandrae (Queen Alexandra's Birdwing) · O. chimaera (Chimaera Birdwing) · O. chimaera chimaera (Chimaera Birdwing) · O. croesus (Wallaces's Golden Birdwing) · O. goliath (Goliath Birdwing) · O. meridionalis (Ornithopt) · O. paradisea (Butterfly Of Paradise) · O. rothschildi (Rothschild's Birdwing)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• A naturalist in cannibal land, by A.S. Meek. Ed. by Frank Fox, with an introduction by the Hon. Walter Rothschild, and thirty-six illustrations London, Leipsic, T.F. Unwin[1913] url p. viii.
• Catalogue of Papilionidae & Pieridae (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera) / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill: C.A. Bridges, 1988. url p. 90.
• Checklist of CITES Species: a reference to the appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES url p. 136, p. 180.
• Checklist of fish and invertebrates listed in the CITES appendices and in EC Regulation 338/97 JNCC url p. 14.
• Rhopalocera exotica; being illustraions of new, rare, and unfigured species of butterflies / by H. Grose Smith and W.F. Kirby. London: Gurney & Jackson, 1887-1902. url p. 4, p. 7.
• Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: the IUCN Red Data Book IUCN url p. 161, p. 274, p. 277, p. 280, p. 286, p. 30, p. 81.
• World Checklist of Fish and Invertebrates Listed in the CITES Appendices Joint Nature Conservation Committee url p. 10.

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• GloBIS (GART)
• GloBIS (GART): Global Butterfly Information System. Release date: November 23, 2008
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 03, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
• LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 5465817
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Gar-406
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 846348

Footnotes

1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=14&sci=Papilionidae&com=Parnassians and Swallowtails [back]
2. Mean = 1,218.200 meters (3,996.719 feet), Standard Deviation = 1,118.450 based on 5 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.