The Swallowtails (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) of Papua Indonesia
by Jan Moonen
INTRODUCTION
There are 29 species of the family Papilionidae in Papua Indonesia. 10 species of the tribe Leptocircini, 9 of the tribe Troidini and 10 of the tribe Papilionini.
The most spectacular butterfly species are without doubt the birdwing butterflies of the genus Ornithoptera. Most of the Ornithoptera species are genuine Papuan butterflies. Ornithoptera alexandrae (Rothschild, 1907) does not occur in Papua Indonesia but flies on the other side of the mainland of New Guinea in a small area in Papua New Guinea (Taututu, Popondetta, Afore, Wanigela).
The systematics of the family Papilionidae are studied by several authors including Rothschild (1895) and Jordan (1908-10) who placed all of the Papilioninae species into the genus Papilio, but they had sorted them into species groups mainly based on the adult stage: the butterfly. The authors Ford (1944), Munroe (1961), Hancock (1983), Igarashi (1979), Miller (1987), Häuser (1993) and Parsons (1996) studied the family Papilionidae more and more systematically using also more and more data of early stages.
In this website the systematics given by Miller (1987) are used combined with the results of Parsons (1996), excluding the polydorus group which is here regarded as a distinct genus: Pachliopta Reakirt, 1864.
Since Jordan in 1908 proposed his ordening of the genus Papilio in species groups, all later authors followed him concerning the genus Atrophaneura sensu Parsons (1996) in using the same species groups. Of course later discovered species are added to the species groups. This shows that there is apparently no doubt on the consistency of these groups.
We fully agree with Parsons (1996) about the strong evidence of early stage characteristics for searching the origin of butterfly groups, but one cannot ignore the relatively young specialisms of the adults. These indicate the latest steps of evolution that has caused the distinct groups within the bigger group (Atrophaneura sensu Parsons). In the Indo-malayan region many species may have evolved in and since the Ice Age(s), in geological terms just quite recent. The polydorus group is more differentiated from the other species groups in Atrophaneura (sensu Parsons) because of its unique male genitalia in the Papilionidae. Therefore the polydorus group is treated here as a distinct genus, Pachliopta. The genus Pachliopta contains 17 species (Page & Treadaway,1995). In Papua only Pachliopta polydorus occurs.
Because conservation managers usually are no insect specialists, it is also better in view of nature conservation to indicate these different groups with a valid name. This does not alter anything in the older relations between these groups.
This page is under constant construction. This means that at any time new species can be added. Please check this page now and then for more information.
The checklist is based on relevant literature and completed with collection data.
Listed Papua species: 30 [3 endemic species]
Papilioninae
Tribus Leptocircini
Graphium Scopoli, 1777
sg. Graphium Scopoli, 1777eurypylus (Linnaeus, 1758)
ssp. lycaonides (Rothschild, 1895)agamemnon (Linnaeus, 1758)
ssp. ligatus Rothschild, 1895macfarlanei (Butler, 1877)
ssp. macfarlanei (Butler, 1877)wallacei (Hewitson, 1858)
ssp. wallacei (Hewitson, 1858)weiskei (Ribbe, 1900)
ssp. weiskei (Ribbe, 1900)codrus (Cramer, 1779)
ssp. medon C.& R.Felder, 1864
ssp. schoutensis Talbot & Joicey, 1916isander (Godman & Salvin, 1888)
ssp. imparilis (Rothschild, 1895)sg. Pathysa Reakirt, 1864
aristeus (Stoll, 1782)
ssp. parmatus (Gray, 1852)felixi (Joicey & Noakes, 1915) [endemic]
thule (Wallace, 1865)
Tribus Troidini
Pachliopta Reakirt, 1864
polydorus (Linnaeus, 1763)
ssp. godartianus (Lucas, 1852)
ssp. leodamas (Wallace, 1865)
ssp. asinius (Fruhstorfer, 1904)
ssp. mamberamus (Toxopeus, 1950)
ssp. humboldti (Rothschild, 1908)
ssp. ackeryi Fujioka, 1997
ssp. meforanus (Rothschild, 1908)
ssp. wangaarensis (Joicey & Talbot, 1924)
ssp. ceramites (Fruhstorfer, 1916)
ssp. auster (van Eecke, 1915)
ssp. tsukadai Fujioka, 1997
Troides Hübner, 1819
oblongomaculatus (Goeze, 1779)
ssp. papuensis (Wallace, 1865)Ornithoptera Boisduval, 1832
goliath (Oberthür, 1888)
ssp. goliath (Oberthür, 1888)
ssp. ukihidei Hanafusa, 1994
ssp. samson Niepelt, 1913
joiceyi Noakes & Talbot, 1915
ssp. atlas (Rothschild, 1908)
sorongensis Morita & Sugiyama, 1998
ssp. supremus (Röber, 1896)
schönbergi (Röber, 1896)tithonus (De Haan, 1840) [endemic]
ssp. waigeuensis (Rothschild, 1897)
waigieunsis Rippon, 1898 [incorrect spelling]
waigiunsis Rippon, 1902 [incorrect spelling]
ssp. misoolana Deslisle, 1985
ssp. dominici Schäffler, 1999
ssp. misresiana (Joicey, Noakes & Talbot, 1916)
ssp. tithonus (de Haan, 1841)
prominens (Joicey & Noakes, 1916)
makikoae Morita, 1998
ssp. cytherea (Kobayashi & Koiwaya, 1980)rothschildi (Kenrick, 1911) [endemic]
chimaera (Rothschild, 1904)
ssp. charybdis (van Eecke, 1915)
dracaena (Joicey & Talbot, 1916)
ssp. chimaera (Rothschild, 1904)
ssp. flavidior (Rothschild, 1913)
draco Rousseau-Decelle, 1935paradisea (Staudinger, 1893)
ssp. galatea Sugiyama, 2000
ssp. occidentalis Morita & Takenaka, 1998
ssp. arfakensis (Joicey, Noakes & Talbot, 1916)
ssp. chrysanthemum Kobayashi & Koiwaya, 1979
ssp. flavescens (Rothschild, 1897)
ssp. detanii Schäffler, 2001 [stat. incert.]
ssp. borchi Haugum & Low, 1974meridionalis (Rothschild, 1897)
ssp. tarunggarensis (Joicey & Talbot, 1926)priamus (Linnaeus, 1758)
ssp. teucrus (Joicey & Talbot, 1916)
ssp. kasandra Kobayashi,1994
ssp. poseidon Doubleday, 1847
valentina Vuillot, 1892 (dwarf form)
euamidas Fruhstorfer, 1913
eurysaces Fruhstorfer, 1913
ssp. aureus Parrot, 1988 [stat.incert.]
ssp. sterrensis Parrot, 1990 [stat.incert.]
Tribus Papilionini
(after Miller,1987 without subgenera; species-groups after Hancock,1983)
Papilio Linnaeus,1758
laglaizei Depuiset, 1877
ssp. laglaizei Depuiset, 1877
kumiokae Okano, 1988euchenor Guérin-Ménéville, 1829
ssp. euchenor Guérin-Ménéville, 1829
ssp. eutropius Janson, 1886
ssp. misolensis Rothschild, 1908
ssp. comma Joicey & Noakes, 1915deiphobus Linnaeus, 1758
ssp. deipylus C.& R.Felder, 1864
ssp. aristartus Fruhstorfer, 1916
ssp. efbensis Talbot, 1932ambrax Boisduval, 1832
ssp. ambrax Boisduval, 1832
ssp. artanus Rothschild, 1908fuscus Goeze, 1779
ssp. beccarii Oberthür, 1880 (1879 nom.nud.)
ssp. offakus Fruhstorfer, 1904albinus Wallace, 1865
ssp. misoolana Goode, 2012
ssp. albinus Wallace, 1865
ssp. yahukimo Goode, 2012
ssp. yapenensis Goode, 2012
ssp. leucophanes Grose Smith, 1894aegeus Donovan, 1805
ssp. ormenus Guérin-Méneville, [1831]
ssp. othello Grose-Smith, 1894
ssp. aegatinus Rothschild, 1908demoleus Linnaeus, 1758 [introduced]
lorquinianus C.& R.Felder, 1865
ssp. albertisi Oberthür, 1880
ssp. apollodorus Fruhstorfer, 1909
ssp. dewaro Joicey & Talbot, 1922
ssp. pratti Goode, 2011
ssp. roxanae Goode, 2011
ssp. avona Goode, 2011
ssp. manggasi Goode & Burke, 2012
ssp. ochoco Shimogori, 1997ulysses Linnaeus, 1758
ssp. autolycus C.& R.Felder, 1865
ssp. dirce Jordan, 1909
ssp. denticulatus Joicey & Talbot, 1916
last updated on 13 April 2025
General literature (specific literature is given on the species pages)
Ford, E.B., 1944. Studies on the chemistry of pigments in the Lepidoptera, with reference to their bearings on systematics. 4. The classification of the Papilionidae.
Hancock, D.L., 1980. The status of the genera Atrophaneura Reakirt and Pachliopta Reakirt (LEP., Pap.). Aust.ent.Mag. 7(2): 27-32.
Hancock, D.L., 1983. Classification of the Papilionidae (LEP.): a phylogenetic approach. Smithersia 2:1-48.
Hancock, D.L., 1988. A revised classification of the genus Atrophaneura Reakirt (LEP., PAPILIONIDAE). Aust. ent. Mag. 15(1): 7-16, 1988.
Häuser, C.L., 1993. Critical comments on the phylogenetic relationships within the family Papilionidae. Nota Lepidopterologica 16(1):34-43.
Igarashi, S., 1979. Papilionidae and their early stages. (in Japanese) Vol.I Text:1-218. Kodansha, Tokyo.
Igarashi, S., 1984. The classification of the Papilionidae mainly based on the morphology of their immature stages. Tyô To Ga 34(2): 41-96.
Jordan, K., 1908-1910. Papilionidae, Papilio bis Armandia. in Seitz: Großschmetterlinge der Erde. Die Indo-Australische Tagfalter. IX: 11-109,112; Pls.1-49.
Miller, J.S., 1987. Phylogenetic studies in the Papilioninae (Lep.: Pap.). Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 186(4).
Morinaka, S. et al, 1999. Molecular phylogeny of Birdwing butterflies based on the represen tatives in most genera of the tribe Troidini (Lep., Papilionidae). Entomological Science 2(3): 347-358.
Munroe, E., 1961. The Classification of the Papilionidae (Lep.) The Canadian Entomologist suppl.17: 1-51.
Page, M.G.P. & C.G. Treadaway, 1995. Revision of the classification of Pachliopta aristolochiae (Fabricius, 1775) (Lep., Pap.) with special reference to the Philippine Islands. Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo, Suppl. 14: 125-148.
Parsons, M.J., 1996. Gondwana Evolution of the Troidine Swallowtails (Lep.: Pap.): Cladistic Reappraisals Using Mainly Immature Stage Characters, with Focus on the Birdwings Ornithoptera Boisduval. Bull. Kitakyushu Mus. Nat. Hist. 15: 43-118.
Parsons, M.J., 1998. The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea. Their Systematics and Biology. Academic Press.
Rothschild, W., 1895. A Revision of the Papilios of the eastern Hemisphere, exclusive of Africa. Nov. Zool. II(3):167-463.
Tsukada, E. & Y. Nishiyama, 1982. Papilionidae. In Tsukada, E. (ed.): Butterflies of the South East Asian Islands. 1: 457 pp. Plapac Co. Ltd. Tokyo.