Species Ornithoptera richmondia (Gray, 1853)
Richmond Birdwing Butterfly
- Papilio richmondia Gray, 1853.
Type data:
Lectotype BMNH Rh10810 ♂, Richmond River, NSW (in original description).
Paralectotype(s) whereabouts unknown 1♂ 1♀, Richmond River, NSW
Comment: Gray described both sexes in the original description; 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 [165] (gave the label data of the single syntype remaining in the BMNH) 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 [165] (noted these specimens are missing from the BMNH collection).Type locality references:
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; 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; Edwards, E.D. 1995. The Richmond Birdwing Butterfly: What's in a name? ANIC News No. 7. 12-15 pp. [14] (from historical evidence suggested that the type specimens came from 'the Tunstall run' near Leycester, Lismore, NSW). - Amphrisius australis Swainson, W. 1851. Review. [book review] Australian Lepidoptera and Their Transformations Drawn from Life, by Harriet and Helena Scott, with Descriptions General and Systematic, by A.W. Scott. The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 August 1851. [30 Aug 1851] [published and described in Swainson's 1851 premature book review of A.W. Scott's Australian Lepidoptera; 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., although Amphrisius australis Swainson, 1851 is a senior synonym of Papilio richmondia Gray, [1853], the name australis Swainson, 1851 has not been used as a valid name for this species and in order to maintain stability we accept the universally used junior synonym richmondia Gray, [1853] as the valid name for this species pending a case to be made to the ICZN on the relative priority of Amphrisius australis Swainson, 1851 and Papilio richmondia Gray, [1853]].
Type data:
Status unknown, whereabouts unknown both sexes, Richmond River, NSW (designated in original description)
Comment: 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 illustrated male must have been in the possession of A.W. Scott); 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] [104] (stated that Scott's collection went to the AM); Ord, M. 1988. Historical Drawings of Moths and Butterflies, Harriet and Helena Scott: introduced and selected by Marion Ord. Roseville, NSW : Craftsman's House 147 pp. [41] (illustrated the plate on which Swainson based his description).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]; Ord, M. 1988. Historical Drawings of Moths and Butterflies, Harriet and Helena Scott: introduced and selected by Marion Ord. Roseville, NSW : Craftsman's House 147 pp.; 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.
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- Edwards, E.D. 1996. Papilionidae. pp. 237-239, 357-358, in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [358]
Distribution
States
New South Wales, Queensland
Extra Distribution Information
Maryborough, QLD, to Clarence River, NSW, probably now extinct on Clarence River and the species currently occurs south to about Wardell, NSW.
Australian Endemic.
IBRA
NSW, 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), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Wet Tropics (WT)
Original AFD Distribution Data
Australian Region
- Australia
- New South Wales: SE coastal
- Queensland: NE coastal
Ecological Descriptors
Larva: herbivore (associated flora: Pararistolochia praevenosa M.J.Parsons [ARISTOLOCHIACEAE]; Aristolochia sp. [ARISTOLOCHIACEAE] (aff. pubera); Pararistolochia laheyana (F.M.Bailey) Mich.J.Parsons [ARISTOLOCHIACEAE]).
General References
Common, I.F.B. & Waterhouse, D.F. 1981. Butterflies of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xiv 682 pp. 49 pls. [262] (as Ornithoptera richmondia, biology)
Edwards, E.D. 1995. The Richmond Birdwing Butterfly: What's in a name? ANIC News No. 7. 12-15 pp. [12] (history of names)
Hancock, D.L. 1983. Classification of the Papilionidae (Lepidoptera): a phylogenetic approach. Smithersia 2: 1-48 [30] (discussed revised species status of Troides (Ornithoptera) richmondia)
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] [106] (as Ornithoptera (Ornithoptera) priamus richmondia, bibliography, biology, hybridisation)
Ord, M. 1988. Historical Drawings of Moths and Butterflies, Harriet and Helena Scott: introduced and selected by Marion Ord. Roseville, NSW : Craftsman's House 147 pp. [40] (description of Amphrisius australis and illustration as Ornithoptera australis (Scott))
Rothschild, L.W. 1895. A revision of the Papilios of the eastern hemisphere, exclusive of Africa. Novitates Zoologicae 2(3): 167-463 pl. 6 [187] (as Troides priamus richmondius, description, distribution)
Sands, D.P.A., Scott, S.E. & Moffatt, R. 1997. The threatened Richmond Birdwing Butterfly (Ornithoptera richmondia [Gray]): a community conservation project. Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne 56(2): 449-453 [449] (conservation)
Sands, D.P.A. & Scott, S.E. 1998. Conservation and recovery of the Richmond birdwing butterfly, Ornithoptera richmondia and its lowland food plant, Pararistolochia praevenosa. pp. 124-132 in Boyes, B. (ed.). Rainforest Recovery for the New Millenium. Proceedings of the WWF Australia 1998 south-east Queensland rainforest recovery Conference. Sydney : World Wide Fund For Nature. [124] (conservation)
Schneider, H. 1895. Life history of Ornithoptera richmondii. The Entomologist 28: 93-97 [93] (incorrect subsequent spelling as Ornithoptera richmondii)
Waterhouse, G.A. 1936. [unpublished personal manuscript of observations made at the BMNH (Papilionidae, Pieridae, Danainae)]. Photocopy located at ANIC, Canberra, ACT. 29 pp. [2] (noted that of Gray's original 'males and female' Papilio richmondia only 1
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] (referred to the
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] [160] (as Troides priamus richmondius, 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 |