Species Ornithoptera euphorion (Gray, 1853)
Cairns Birdwing
- Papilio euphorion Gray, 1853.
Type data:
Syntype(s) BMNH Rh10809 ♀, Northern Australia (in original description; Gray also said 'interior of the northern portions of Australia'; could not have come from interior)
Comment: Gray in the original description mentioned several female specimens; Howarth, T.G. 1977. A list of the type-specimens of Ornithoptera (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in the British Museum (Natural History). Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History Entomol. 36(3): 153–169 [159] (gave label data of a syntype); Haugum, J. & Low, A.M. 1979. A Monograph of the Birdwing Butterflies. The systematics of Ornithoptera, Troides and related genera. Vol. 1, Part 2. Ornithoptera (Ornithoptera). Klampenborg, Denmark : Scandinavian Science Press 85–192 pp. [113] (also gave label data of the syntype and discussed Rippon's use of type for a non-syntype).Type locality references:
Waterhouse, G.A. 1937. Presidential address: The biology and taxonomy of the Australasian butterflies. Report of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science 23: 101-133 [also issued as a repaginated separate in 1938] [125] (suggested Cooktown, QLD, as the type locality; the label data indicated that the type locality was NW Australia, collected by Allan Cunningham and the BMNH register recorded the type locality as New Holland, N.W. Coast); Howarth, T.G. 1977. A list of the type-specimens of Ornithoptera (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in the British Museum (Natural History). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomol. 36(3): 153-169; Haugum, J. & Low, A.M. 1979. A Monograph of the Birdwing Butterflies. The systematics of Ornithoptera, Troides and related genera. Ornithoptera (Ornithoptera). Klampenborg, Denmark : Scandinavian Science Press Vol. 1(2) 85-192 pp. [Date published 1-Apr-79] [113] (restricted the type locality to Port Denison, Bowen, QLD, but advanced no reasons for this choice); Haugum, J. & Low, A.M. 1979. A Monograph of the Birdwing Butterflies. The systematics of Ornithoptera, Troides and related genera. Ornithoptera (Ornithoptera). Klampenborg, Denmark : Scandinavian Science Press Vol. 1(2) 85-192 pp. [Date published 1-Apr-79]; Edwards, E.D., Newland, J. & Regan, L. 2001. Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea, Papilionoidea. In Wells, A. & Houston, W.W.K. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 31.6. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia. x 615 pp. (the species does not occur on the NW coast; Waterhouse (1937) did not say why he had chosen Cooktown, but may have done so on the basis of stops made during the voyages in which Cunningham participated). - Ornithoptera cassandra Scott, A.W. 1864. On a new species of Ornithoptera. Transactions of the Entomological Society of New South Wales 1(2): 130-133 pl. 10 [131 pl. 10].
Type data:
Holotype whereabouts unknown ♀, Port Denison, QLD (designated in original description, = Bowen, QLD)
Comment: Scott in the original description did not indicate the number of specimens described, there is, however, an implication that only a single female was described (cassandra female, is from the cabinet…), the specimen was originally in the Macleay collection.Type locality references:
Waterhouse, G.A. 1937. Presidential address: The biology and taxonomy of the Australasian butterflies. Report of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science 23: 101-133 [also issued as a repaginated separate in 1938] [125] (erroneously gave the type locality as Rockingham Bay, (Cardwell) QLD).
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- Rothschild, L.W. 1895. A revision of the Papilios of the eastern hemisphere, exclusive of Africa. Novitates Zoologicae 2(3): 167-463 pl. 6 [182]
Distribution
States
Queensland
Extra Distribution Information
Occurs from Mt Webb to Mackay, QLD.
IBRA
Qld: Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), NSW North Coast (NNC), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Wet Tropics (WT)
Original AFD Distribution Data
Australian Region
- Australia
- Queensland: NE coastal
Ecological Descriptors
Larva: herbivore (associated flora: Aristolochia elegans Mast. [ARISTOLOCHIACEAE] Dutchman's Pipe; Pararistolochia deltantha M.J.Parsons [ARISTOLOCHIACEAE]; Pararistolochia sparusifolia M.J.Parsons [ARISTOLOCHIACEAE]; Aristolochia indica L. [ARISTOLOCHIACEAE]; Aristolochia pubera R.Br. [ARISTOLOCHIACEAE]; Aristolochia tagala Cham. [ARISTOLOCHIACEAE]; Aristolochia thozetii F.Muell. [ARISTOLOCHIACEAE]; Pararistolochia australopithecurus M.J.Parsons [ARISTOLOCHIACEAE]).
Extra Ecological Information
Females lay eggs on introduced Aristolochia elegans, but the leaves are toxic and larvae fail to survive.
General References
Common, I.F.B. & Waterhouse, D.F. 1981. Butterflies of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xiv 682 pp. 49 pls. [261] (as Ornithoptera priamus euphorion, biology)
Hancock, D.L. 1983. Classification of the Papilionidae (Lepidoptera): a phylogenetic approach. Smithersia 2: 1-48 [30] (discussed revised species status of Troides (Ornithoptera) euphorion)
Hancock, D.L. 1991. Notes on the phylogeny and biogeography of Ornithoptera Boisduval (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Tyô to Ga (Transactions of the Lepidopterological Society of Japan) 42: 17-36 [29] (characters)
Hancock, D.L. & Orr, A.G. 1997. Ornithoptera euphorion (Gray) (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae): species or subspecies? Australian Entomologist 24: 165-168 [165]
Haugum, J. & Low, A.M. 1979. A Monograph of the Birdwing Butterflies. The systematics of Ornithoptera, Troides and related genera. Ornithoptera (Ornithoptera). Klampenborg, Denmark : Scandinavian Science Press Vol. 1(2) 85-192 pp. [Date published 1-Apr-79] [112] (as Ornithoptera (Ornithoptera) priamus euphorion, bibliography, biology)
Parsons, M.J. 1996. Gondwanan evolution of the troidine swallowtails (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae): cladistic reappraisals using mainly immature stage characters, with focus on the birdwings Ornithoptera Boisduval. Bulletin of the Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History 15: 43-118 [94] (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)
Waterhouse, G.A. 1932. What Butterfly is That? A Guide to the Butterflies of Australia. Illustrated by Neville Cayley. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 291 pp. 34 pls. [Date published 15/Dec/1932] [28]
Waterhouse, G.A. 1937. Presidential address: The biology and taxonomy of the Australasian butterflies. Report of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science 23: 101-133 [also issued as a repaginated separate in 1938] [125]
Waterhouse, G.A. & Lyell, G. 1914. The Butterflies of Australia: a monograph of the Australian Rhopalocera introducing a complete scheme of structural classification, and giving descriptions and illustrations of all the butterflies found in Australia, including a number now recorded for the first time. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 239 pp. 38 pls + 3 unnumbered colour pls. [Date published 25 July 1914] [159] (as Troides priamus euphorion, description, distribution)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07-Mar-2024 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 04-Feb-2023 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 22-Dec-2023 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby (ANU) |
| 13-May-2022 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 26-Feb-2021 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 04-Jun-2020 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 04-Jun-2020 | PAPILIONIDAE Latreille, 1802 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | |
| 06-Sep-2017 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | |
| 05-Mar-2013 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 30-Mar-2012 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 28-Mar-2012 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 28-Mar-2012 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED |