''Trogonoptera trojana'', the Palawan birdwing or triangle birdwing, is a

birdwing Birdwings are butterflies in the Papilionidae, swallowtail family, that belong to the genera ''Trogonoptera'', ''Troides'', and ''Ornithoptera''. Most recent authorities recognise 36 species, however, this is debated, and some authorities inclu ...

butterfly of the family

Papilionidae Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful Butterfly, butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includ ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It is one of only two species in its genus, the other being the more widespread Rajah Brooke's birdwing, where the male has larger green markings on the hindwings. This species is included in

CITES Appendix II CITES (shorter acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of inte ...

,Butterfly Corner
Trogonoptera trojana.
Accessed 21 May 2012 restricting international export to those who have been granted a permit. The wingspan is approximately . The species may be observed flying at any point during the year. The larvae feed on '' Aristolochia''.

Taxonomy

Genus: '' Trogonoptera'' Rippon, 1890 :Species: '' Trogonoptera brookiana'' Wallace, 1855 ::Subspecies: ''Trogonoptera brookiana brookiana'' (Wallace, 1855) :::Form: ''Trogonoptera brookiana brookiana'' f. ''brookiana'' Wallace, 1855 :::Form: ''Trogonoptera brookiana brookiana'' f. ''julijae'' S.Hu, 2007 ::Subspecies: ''Trogonoptera brookiana toshikii'' Kobayashi, 1991 ::Subspecies: ''Trogonoptera brookiana akikoa'' Morita, 1994 :Species: ''Trogonoptera trojana'' Honrath, 1886

Illustrations

TrogonopteraTrojanaRippon.jpg, Males from ''Icones Ornithopterorum'' volume 2 TrogonopteraTrojana2Rippon.jpg, Females from ''Icones Ornithopterorum'' volume 2

References

External links

* * Papilionidae Butterflies of Indochina Lepidoptera of the Philippines Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of Palawan Butterflies described in 1889 Taxa named by Otto Staudinger {{Papilionidae-stub